Articles about Architecture and Historic Preservation
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Bloomington’s Oakland School a modernist architectural gem
By Bill Kemp. Published on June 25, 2013.
The post-World War II era marked a dramatic evolution—if not revolution—in the design of school buildings. In Bloomington...
End of horse era spurs revolution in barn design
By Bill Kemp. Published on November 6, 2016.
Though it may seem hard to believe, horses remained an integral part of Corn Belt farms well into the 1930s. And although the tractor b...
Short-lived performance hall once city’s finest
By Bill Kemp. Published on May 20, 2018.
For a few years after the end of the Civil War, the Academy of Music was Bloomington’s most elegant concert and theater hall. And thoug...
‘I-house’ early Corn Belt architectural style
By Bill Kemp. Published on January 13, 2019.
Along Illinois Route 165 between the rural communities of Cooksville and Colfax in eastern McLean County is a long-abandoned, impeccabl...
‘Spanish craze’ of 1920s left imprint on area architecture
By Bill Kemp. Published on April 7, 2019.
American residential architecture has long favored dominant English-inspired styles. When most folks conjure up their ideal of an attra...
Bloomington’s oldest park turns 165 this week
By Bill Kemp. Published on April 25, 2021.
“How pleasant it is, immediately after the noontide hour of a hot summer’s day,” mused The Pantagraph in 1857, “to stroll away from the...