1975 Arts Festival

Here are some photos from the Nelson Family of the 1975 Mattoon Street Arts Festival (the third one).

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Downtown Springfield through Hollywood’s eyes in early 1970’s

The movie “The Reincarnation of Peter Proud” was filmed in and around Springfield in the early 1970’s. This was no “Citizen Kane”, but it’s cool to see your city up on the big screen. Someone did a mashup of the scenes of Downtown Springfield and posted it on YouTube — I found this on Tommy Devine’s Valleyist blog:

Springfield in Peter Proud

 

Last batch of paving and sidewalk photos

These are the last of the photos of the street improvements from the 1970’s that I got from the Nelson family, the people who owned 29 (where I now live) and 26 (building demolished, current site of condominiums built in 1982 as an in-fill project) Mattoon Street.

light posts being installed — I think

hole being filled with dirt

herringbone sidewalk installation

deep street prep

closer view of street work

bricks on pallets to go on sidewalk

27 and 29 Mattoon crater eek

More street improvements early 1970’s

In the early 19070’s a group of people from greater Springfield got together to try to preserve the historic Victorian townhouses on Mattoon Street. The street was suffering badly from blight and fires and was a sketchy street filled with boarding houses (where you could rent space by the hour), prostitutes and drugs. Many homes which were built in the late 1870’s to house a single family housed dozens of unrelated people in the 1970’s.

The Quadrangle-Mattoon Historic District was formed in 1971. It was the city’s first Historic District. Without the creation of that historic district and the hard work of several considered private citizens, along with generous government funds to enable capital improvements, the street would not be the gem that it is today. Things like this don’t happen automatically or by chance. It takes planning and public-private partnerships and caring property owners and residents.

paving with street lamps installed

Park to be bricked during festival

more paving

more paving street

more of sidewalk work

mattoon street paving project

Mattoon street paving project showing burnt out building and Chestnut Tower construction

Mattoon street in process of paving before sidewalks re-done after trees planted

mattoon street herringbone sidewalk being installed 197?

Mattoon street being paved