Bloomington, IL

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A significant Kickapoo settlement was located just outside Bloomington before the first European-American immigrants arrived in the early 1820s. Originally known as Blooming Grove, the hamlet of Keg Grove became the county seat of newly formed McLean County on December 25, 1830.

An official county seat for McLean was created when the county was formed. The statute, on the other hand, indicated that the location of Bloomington "would be located later." It was announced that James Allin, one of the proponents of the new county, had volunteered to give his property to the new town. Bloomington was planned out after his proposition was accepted. On July 4th, 1831, it was auctioned off to a large and boisterous crowd. Many new farmers came to settle in the newly constituted county because of the fertile soils that existed at that time, but there were few roadways for them to use.

People flocked from all around to trade and conduct business in the town's core, which is now known as Downtown Bloomington, including Abraham Lincoln, who worked as a lawyer in neighboring Springfield. Jesse W. Fell, the founder of the Bloomington Pantagraph and a key figure in local real estate, had proposed the Lincoln-Douglas debates in 1854 and was instrumental in Lincoln's decision to run for President.

Ray and Irene Denbesten founded Denbesten Real Estate in 1977. Cathy Denbesten, their daughter, now runs it. Call them at (309) 6662-4228 for assistance purchasing or selling a house.

The City of Bloomington and McLean County, Illinois, make up the fastest-growing metropolitan area in the state of Illinois. People in the area have grown 28% from 1990 to 2006. When the US Census Bureau did a special census of Bloomington in February 2006, it found that the city had grown by 15.7 percent in less than six years. This is where the fastest growth has been, though.

There is an indoor public ice skating facility called the Bloomington Ice Center, which was previously called the Pepsi Ice Center. It has a full-size sheet of ice: 200' x 85'. The facility has ice skating lessons, public skating sessions, a full hockey program, learn to curl and curling leagues, skate rental, and a concession stand where you can buy food and drink.

A group called the Bloomington Parks & Recreation Department is made up of four groups: Parks, Recreation, Golf and the Miller Park Zoo. 44 parks and three golf courses make up the Department's 1,100 acres (4.5 km2) of land. They include: Airport Park, Atwood Wayside, Angler's Lake Nature Preserve, Bittner Park and Brookridge Park. They also include: Ewing Park 1, Ewing Park 2, EwingPark 3 and Fell AvenuePark. The Department also runs Lincoln Leisure Center and the Lincoln Recreation Center. The Department also runs the Lincoln Recreation Center and Lincoln Recreation Center.

They open at 6am and close at midnight, but you can't drink alcohol or smoke in the parks. You can take your pet with you on a leash. These parks often have water spray parks, elaborate playgrounds, miniature golf, baseball/softball diamonds, soccer fields, cricket grounds, and lighted tennis courts, as well as other types of fields. During the winter, there are tennis courts at the Evergreen Racket Club. At O'Neil Park (to the west) and Holiday Park (to the east), there are two outdoor public swimming pools (east). Some private health clubs have swimming pools inside. These include the YMCA, the YWCA, and other groups.

As part of Illinois State University's 150th anniversary celebration, the Genevieve Green Gardens were dedicated in 2007. The gardens were created with the help of several architects and landscape designers, notably the late Bruce V. Green, an ardent gardener who donated $5.2 million to the project. They feature a new public entrance leading to a formal plaza, the manor entrance, grass patio, theater walk with wider pathway and more vegetation.

Illinois Wesleyan University, a campus of Heartland Community College, and Illinois State University are located in Bloomington and Normal, respectively. The American Passion Play is an annual spring event. One of Bloomington's state historic sites was the home of Supreme Court associate judge David Davis, who lived there from 1872 to 1873. This cemetery is where both Adlai E. Stevenson, who served as vice president from 1893 to 1997, and his grandson (and two-time Democratic Party presidential candidate) Adlai E. Stevenson II, are laid to rest. Nearby Shirley, a gem and mineral museum is located. Founded in 1839. People in Bloomington-Normal Metro Area (2000): 64,808; 2010, 76,601; Bloomington-Normal Metro Area (2010): 169,572.

There are five Masterworks concerts, two Pops concerts, and three Chamber Orchestra concerts each year at the Bloomington Center for the Performing Arts in Bloomington, Illinois. This is where the orchestra plays.

For more than a century, the McLean County Arts Center has served Central Illinois as a cultural hub. For almost 70 years, the annual Amateur Competition and Exhibition has been a showcase for the greatest amateur artists in Central Illinois, showcasing the best of the best each year. Sugar Creek Arts Festival in Uptown Normal and Spring Bloom Arts Festival in Bloomington are both sponsored by the Arts Center.

One of the oldest community theaters, the Community Players Theater, is situated on Robinhood Lane off of Towanda Avenue and is entirely operated by volunteers. The theater, which first opened its doors in 1923, just celebrated its 88th season.

In 2011, USA Ballet celebrated its 21st year as an international ballet company. USA Ballet offers children's seminars and outreach activities, and performs three times a year at Illinois Wesleyan University's McPherson Theatre.

Into its 92nd season, American Passion Play is America's longest running Passion Play. The Passion Play, set in Palestine, is presented each spring at the Bloomington Center for the Performing Arts in Bloomington, Indiana.

The Lincoln's Bloomington Festival is held each July in Downtown Bloomington and features Civil War reenactments, traditional craft demonstrations, children's activities, musical performances, talks and tours.

The McLean County Arts Center hosts the Spring Bloom Arts Festival in March every year. It's an indoor fine art festival with over a hundred artists showing everything from carpentry and glass art to sculpture and paintings. There are also prints and pictures and jewelry made by hand on display.

Bloomington architect Phil Hooten created Ewing Manor in the post-Victorian period's Channel-Norman style, which was popular among the wealthy. Jens Jensen, who also built Springfield's Lincoln Memorial Gardens, developed the surrounding gardens. The Illinois Shakespeare Festival is held every summer in the theatre on the grounds.

Restored in 1977, the Miller Park Pavilion & War Memorial was dedicated in May of that year. Central Illinois people killed or missing in action in Korea and Vietnam are listed on red walkways around the black granite monument.

Many notable Bloomington-Normal residents, including members of the Stevenson family, are buried at Evergreen Memorial Cemetery. Both Adlai E. Stevenson I, Grover Cleveland's vice president, and Adlai E. Stevenson II, Illinois governor, UN ambassador, and twice Democratic presidential candidate, are buried there. Among the others buried there are Stevenson's wife, Letitia Green Stevenson, and her sister, Julia Green Scott. Dorothy Gage, inspiration for the main character in The Wizard of Oz and niece of author L. Frank Baum, is also buried there.

It provides a look into the life of Abraham Lincoln's friend and mentor, David Davis, who served as a Supreme Court Justice and was an important part in Lincoln's campaign for the 1860 Republican nomination for president. An example of mid-Victorian style and taste, the Davis Mansion was constructed in 1872 and incorporates Italianate and Second Empire architectural elements. Coal-burning stoves, gas lights, and indoor plumbing are all found in his Bloomington house, which has been in the Davis family for three generations. The National Register of Historic Places lists the David Davis Mansion as a historic site.

The former Montefiore synagogue building is one of Illinois' rare Moorish Revival structures and one of the country's oldest synagogues.

Bloomington IL

If you want to learn more about the Bloomington Center for the Performing Arts, you can go Behind the Curtain with a group of people who have been trained. During the tours, you can see the building's neo-Classical interior design and learn about all of the changes and renovations that have been made to it.

The David Davis Mansion offers tours for both groups and individuals of the 36-room estate of Judge David Davis. Docents use artifacts and stories about the Davis family to interpret the rich social and cultural history of America's western frontier from the 1850s through the 1880s. Specific themes include servant life, domestic life and technology at the dawn of the industrial age, family history (with a focus on children), and Victorian architecture.

Lincoln's Bloomington and Normal, Illinois is an audio driving tour offered by the McLean County Museum of History. President Abraham Lincoln appears as a returning guest on the CD-based audio tour, discussing the locations he visited and their significance. The audio tour, written and performed by James Keeran, visits Kersey Fell's Law Office, where Jesse Fell suggested Lincoln run for president; Asahel Gridley's home, where Lincoln was a friend and client in a slander suit; the Miller-Davis Building, where Lincoln practiced law; and 14 other locations.

The Bloomington-Normal Area Convention and Visitors Bureau conducts monthly Twin City Tours. Tours start at the McLean County Museum.

It's a great place to live and work in the heart of Bloomington, IL. There are several restaurants to choose from, and the nightlife is vibrant. As a result of these and other unique events, visitors get an opportunity to get a taste of what it's like to live in this part of town. Bloomington's downtown area is home to the city's and McLean County's government buildings, as well as a slew of clubs, restaurants, and art galleries.

Two public school districts serve Bloomington. Bloomington Public Schools District 87 serves the city's interior, with one high school, Bloomington High School, one junior high school, Bloomington Junior High School, six elementary schools (Oakland, Washington, Bent, Irving, Sheridan, and Stevenson elementary schools), and one pre-school, Sarah Raymond Elementary School (named for the first female superintendent for Bloomington).

A second district, McLean County Unit District No. 5, was created as a result of growth. Originally serving only suburban areas, including Normal, Unit Five now serves a majority of Bloomington-area students. Untiion Five runs two high schools, four junior highs, and many elementary schools. EJHS (George Evans Junior High School) was built in 2010 by Unit Five. On top of that, Unit 5 is planning to build two new elementary schools and a new high school in Bloomington by 2011.

Some of Bloomington's private schools are also there, like Central Catholic High School, Corpus Christi Catholic School, Epiphany Elm./Jr. School, St. Mary's Catholic School, St. Mary's Catholic School, Trinity Lutheran School, and Cornerstone Christian Academy, among others. Bloomington students can also go to Metcalf Elm./Jr. School and University High School, both of which are lab schools at Illinois State University, if they want to.

Founded in 1850, Illinois Wesleyan Institution is a private residential university with a student-to-faculty ratio of 12 to 1. It used to be a part of the United Methodist Church. The University is divided into three colleges: the College of Liberal Arts, which has 17 academic departments; the College of Fine Arts, which has professional art, music, and theatre arts schools; and the School of Nursing. The five-story Ames Library, the Center for Natural Science, and the Shirk Center for Athletics and Recreation have all been added to Illinois Wesleyan University in the last ten years. Since 1970, Illinois Wesleyan University, an NCAA Division III school, has had over 100 athletes named to the Academic All-American team. Hairmasters Institute of Cosmetology, Inc. offers classes in pivot point hair sculpture, hair design, long hair design, hair texture, hair color, people skills, and salon management.

The magnificent dome of the McLean County Museum of History serves as a marker for locating the city's historic centre. The courthouse plaza is surrounded by a number of historic buildings from the turn of the century. There are museums, banks, a legal and governmental center, residential housing, a big artist's colony, and several speciality retail enterprises and support services available to visitors in the area. There are numerous dining options, as well as a vibrant nightlife.