Bloomington, Illinois Old Mclean County (Illinois) Court House (1900 - 1976) Bloomington (3660 - 700761).jpg Mc - Lean County History Museum (formerly Mc - Lean County Court House) in Downtown Bloomington Official name: City of Bloomington Location of Bloomington inside Illinois Location of Illinois in the United States Bloomington is a town/city in Illinois, United States and the governmental center of county of Mc - Lean County.
The 2010 census showed the town/city had a populace of 76,610, making it the 12th most populated town/city in Illinois, and the fifth-most crowded city in the state outside of the Chicago Metropolitan Area. Combined with Normal, the twin metros/cities have a populace of roughly 130,000.
Bloomington is positioned at 40 29 03 N 88 59 37 W.
According to the 2010 census, Bloomington has a total region of 27.229 square miles (70.52 km2), of which 27.22 square miles (70.50 km2) (or 99.97%) is territory and 0.009 square miles (0.02 km2) (or 0.03%) is water. Bloomington, Illinois In recent years, average temperatures in the governmental center of county of Bloomington have ranged from a low of 14 F ( 10 C) in January to a high of 86 F (30 C) in July, although a record low of 23 F ( 31 C) was recorded in January 1985 and a record high of 114 F (46 C) was recorded on July 15, 1936 amid the 1936 North American heat wave.
The Bloomington region was at the edge of a large grove occupied by the Kickapoo citizens before the first Euro-American pioneer appeared in the early 1820s. Springing from the settlement of Keg Grove, later called Blooming Grove, Bloomington was titled as governmental center of county on December 25, 1830, when Mc - Lean County was created. When the County of Mc - Lean was incorporated, a governmental center of county was established.
However, the legislation stated the site of Bloomington "would be positioned later." His offer was accepted, and Bloomington was laid out.
People came from all over to trade and do company at the town's center, known today as Downtown Bloomington, including Abraham Lincoln who was working as a lawyer in close-by Springfield, Illinois. Agriculture, the assembly of highways and barns s, and the expansion of the insurance company (mainly State Farm Insurance) all influenced the expansion of Bloomington and its downtown area.
The City of Bloomington and Mc - Lean County comprise the fastest-growing urbane region in Illinois.
The downtown State Farm Insurance Building, part of the Bloomington Central Business District According to Bloomington's 2016 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report the area's top employers are: 2 Illinois State University 3,220 9 Bloomington School District 87 657 Bloomington is also home to a meeting hall at the Mc - Lean County Fairgrounds, U.S.
Interstates 39, 55 and 74 intersect at Bloomington, making the town/city a substantial transit hub.
US highways 51 and 150 and Illinois state route 9 also run through Bloomington.
Connect Transit has 11 color-coded fixed routes in the area; a lift-assisted paratransit service called Nite - Ride, which operates when Illinois State University is in session; and a ground shuttle for ISU called Redbird Express.
The Pepsi Ice Center is an indoor enhance ice skating facility directed by the Bloomington Parks & Recreation Department, featuring a full-size sheet of ice: 200' x 85'.
Cellular Coliseum in southwest downtown Bloomington opened in 2006 and home to the former Bloomington Extreme,now retitled the Bloomington Edge after the sale of the team in 2011, of the Indoor Football League and formerly the home of the Prairie - Thunder and Blaze of the Central Hockey League.
Beginning in 2014, it is the home rink of the Bloomington Thunder of the United States Hockey League, as well as hosting certain games of Illinois State University's club hockey team and small-town youth hockey programs.
The Bloomington Parks & Recreation Department is composed of four divisions: Parks, Recreation, Golf, and the Miller Park Zoo.
The Department maintains over 1,100 acres (4.5 km2) of territory including 44 park sites and 3 golf courses including: Airport Park, Alton Depot Park, Angler's Lake Nature Preserve, Atwood Wayside, Bittner Park, Brookridge Park, Buck-Mann Park, Clearwater Park, Eagle Crest Park, Emerson Park, Evergreen Park, Ewing Park 1, Ewing Park 2, Ewing Park 3, Fell Avenue Park, Forrest Park, Franklin Park, Friendship Park, Highland Park Golf Course, Holiday Park, Lincoln Leisure Center, Marie Litta Park, Mc - Graw Park, Miller Park, Miller Park Zoo, Northpoint School Park, Oakland School Park, O'Neil Park, Pepperidge Park, Pepsi Ice Center, PJ Irvin Park, Prairie Vista Golf Course, R.T.
Dunn Fields, Rollingbrook Park, Sale Ban Soccer Fields, Stevenson School Park, Suburban East Park, Sunnyside Park, The Den at Fox Creek Golf Course, Tipton Park, White Oak Park and Withers Park. Parks are open from 6:00am to 10:00pm, alcoholic beverages and smoking are prohibited and pets are allowed in all parks on a leash. These facilities often contain water spray parks, elaborate playgrounds, miniature golf, baseball/softball diamonds, soccer fields, cricket grounds, and lighted tennis courts.
Outdoor enhance swimming pools are positioned at O'Neil Park (west) and Holiday Park (east).
The north-south segment of the trail follows the abandoned Illinois Central Gulf (ICG) barns from Kerrick Road in Normal to Grove Street in Bloomington.
The Genevieve Green Gardens at Ewing Cultural Center were dedicated in 2007 as part of the Illinois State University's 150th anniversary celebration.
In 2005, Golf Digest ranked Bloomington-Normal as the Fifth Best American City for Golf in their "Best in America" Metro Golf Rankings.
Golf Digest ranked America's biggest Metropolitan Statistical Areas on four different criteria: access to golf, weather, value of golf, and character of golf. The golf course at the Bloomington Country Club Practice facilities include a large bent grass driving range and tees with practice chipping and putting greens. The Den is home to both the IHSA Boys' Golf State Tournament and COUNTRY Youth Classic each summer. Located in South Bloomington, the Highland Park Golf Course has various challenges including creeks, three lakes, well-placed sand traps and tree-lined fairways.
Highland Park sports a pro shop, carts, club rental and snack bar and offers individual or group lessons. The Highland Park Golf Course hosts the COUNTRY Youth Classic each summer. The Links at Ireland Grove is Bloomington's newest enhance golf facility and first executive course.
The Links' complex also includes Golf Etc., a pro shop selling everything golf related. The Links is also home to the COUNTRY Skills Challenge portion of the COUNTRY Youth Classic each summer. There are two private nation clubs inside Bloomington: Bloomington Country Club and Lakeside Country Club.
The Bloomington Center for the Performing Arts is the centerpiece of the city's new Cultural District, which also includes the neighboring Mc - Lean County of Arts Center, forthcoming festival park, and creativity center for arts education.
Currently presenting a season of nationally acclaimed touring artists, the center is also home to over twenty region performing arts ensembles.
More than 400 performances and improve affairs take place at the Bloomington Center for the Performing Arts each year. The Illinois Symphony Orchestra performs at the Bloomington Center for the Performing Arts where they hold five Masterworks concerts, two Pops concerts and three Chamber Orchestra concerts annually. The Mc - Lean County Arts Center is one of the earliest arts organizations in the Midwest, serving Central Illinois for over 130 years.
Each year 12 art exhibitions are held including the Holiday Treasurers exposition and sale, and the annual Amateur Competition and Exhibition which, for over 70 years, has showcased the best amateur artists in Central Illinois.
The Arts Center also sponsors a number of improve affairs, such as the Sugar Creek Arts Festival in Uptown Normal and the Spring Bloom Arts Festival in Bloomington. The Illinois Wesleyan University School of Theatre Arts homes its talent inside the Jerome Mirza Theatre at Mc - Pherson Hall.
The Miller Park Outdoor Summer Theatre, an amateur theatre group sponsored by the City of Bloomington, performs two primary theatre productions each year. Performed each spring at the Bloomington Center for the Performing Arts, the Passion Play is set in Palestine, 30 AD, and portrays the life of Christ in its entirety. The Illinois Shakespeare Festival includes productions performed in an open-air, Elizabethan-style theatre inside historic Ewing Manor each summer.
The Lincoln's Bloomington Festival is held each July in Downtown Bloomington and features Civil War re-enactors, traditional craft demonstrations, children's activities, musical performances, talks and tours. The Spring Bloom Arts Festival is hosted by the Mc - Lean County Arts Center in March each year.
This indoor fine art festival features over 100 artists representing a wide range of media including woodworking, glass art, sculpture, paintings, prints, photographs and handcrafted jewelry. The Mc - Lean County Fair is billed as the '"Home of the World's Largest County 4-H Fair" taking place each August at the Mc - Lean County Fairgrounds in Bloomington.
The Mc - Lean County Museum of History traces its roots back to 1892, the year the Mc - Lean County Historical Society was founded.
Housed inside the old Mc - Lean County Courthouse, the Museum features permanent and rotating exhibits that explore the history of Central Illinois.
Stevenson II was Governor of Illinois, Ambassador to the United Nations and twice Democratic candidate for the United States Presidency.
The David Davis Mansion offers a glimpse into the life friend and mentor to Abraham Lincoln, David Davis, who served as a United States Supreme Court Justice and was a key component amid Lincoln's bid for the 1860 Presidential nomination.
His Bloomington home, which remained in the Davis family for three succeeding generations, contains the most undivided conveniences of that era: a coal-burning stove, gas lighting and indoor plumbing.
The former building of the Montefiore Jewish house of worship is one of the several Moorish Revival buildings in Illinois and one of the Oldest Jewish churchs in the United States.
Area attractions and businesses also offer a number of tours in Bloomington.
The Bloomington Center for the Performing Arts offers Behind the Curtain Tours led by a group of specially trained docents.
The mansion is a precursor of the undivided homes and comfort systems that we take for granted today, and is a reminder of the part Illinois played in the nation's history when Abraham Lincoln was President. Arrangements can also be made for a special Tea Ladies Inc.
The Mc - Lean County Museum of History offers an audio driving tour titled Lincoln's Bloomington and Normal, Illinois.
Written and performed by James Keeran, the audio tour includes: Kersey Fell's Law office, where Jesse Fell suggested Lincoln run for the presidency; the home of Asahel Gridley, Lincoln's friend and client in a slander suit; the Miller-Davis Building, where Lincoln practiced law; and 14 other sites. The Bloomington-Normal Area Convention and Visitors Bureau offers monthly tours of Bloomington and Normal titled Twin City Tours.
Tours depart from the Mc - Lean County Museum of History. Eastland Mall is the chief shopping center in Bloomington.
Downtown Bloomington offers exhibitions, banks, a legal and governmental center, residentiary living, a large artists' community, plus an assortment of specialty retail businesses and supportive services.
Downtown Bloomington is home to government offices of the City of Bloomington, Mc - Lean County, and primary employers including State Farm Insurance and a several specialty stores, bars, restaurants and art arcades. Bloomington, Illinois is the only town where BEER NUTS Brand Snacks are made.
There are two BEER NUTS Company Stores in Bloomington, each offering a video tour of the Bloomington plant and history of BEER NUTS Brand Snacks. Bloomington is served by two enhance school districts.
The interior of the town/city is served by Bloomington Public Schools District 87, which operates one high school, Bloomington High School, one junior high school, Bloomington Junior High School, and six elementary schools (Oakland, Washington, Bent, Irving, Sheridan, and Stevenson elementary schools) and one pre-school, Sarah Raymond (named for the first female superintendent for Bloomington).
Growth has taken the town/city well into the boundaries of a second district, Mc - Lean County Unit District No.
Although Unit Five originally served only suburban areas, including Normal, the majority of its students now are from Bloomington itself.
Unit Five operates two high schools (Normal Community High School and Normal Community West High School), four junior high schools, and various elementary schools.
As of 2010, Unit Five was constructing its fourth junior high school which is called George Evans Junior High School more generally known as EJHS.
The assembly was rather than in 2011 Unit 5 was also making two new elementary schools in Bloomington, and is projecting the need for another high school.
Bloomington is also home to a several private schools, including Central Catholic High School, Holy Trinity Elm./Jr.
School and University High School, laboratory schools positioned at Illinois State University.
The town/city of Bloomington is home to one college and one trade school: The University consists of the College of Liberal Arts, with 17 academic departments; the College of Fine Arts, comprising experienced Schools of Art, Music, and Theatre Arts; and the School of Nursing.
In the past decade, Illinois Wesleyan has added the five-story Ames Library, the Center for Natural Science, and the Shirk Center for Athletics and Recreation.
An NCAA Division III school, Illinois Wesleyan has had more than 100 athletes propel into the Academic All-American team since 1970., Illinois State University Bloomington/Normal Japanese Saturday School ( Buruminton Nomaru Hoshu Jugyo Ko), a Japanese weekend school, was established in 1986 and held at the Thomas Metcalf School, an ISU laboratory school in Normal. The school has a separate office in Normal. Main article: List of citizens from Bloomington, Illinois 103.3 WZND-LP Illinois State University Student Radio web (RDS) NOAA Weather Radio station KZZ65 transmits from Bloomington and is licensed to NOAA's National Weather Service Central Illinois Weather Forecast Office at Lincoln, transmitting on a recurrence of 162.525 m - Hz (channel 6 on most newer weather radios, and most SAME weather radios).
The station activates the SAME tone alarm feature and a 1050 Hz tone activating older radios (except for AMBER Alerts, using the SAME feature only) for hazardous weather and non-weather warnings and emergencies, along with chose weather watches, for the Illinois counties of Mc - Lean, Tazewell, and Woodford.
Bloomington is home to State Farm Insurance., Country Financial, and Beer Nuts. The initial Steak 'n Shake restaurant was opened in Normal, Bloomington's adjoining city, in 1934. It also has the biggest Dairy Queen Restaurant. "2010 City Population and Housing Occupancy Status".
"Monthly Averages for Bloomington, Illinois".
History of Bloomington, History of Bloomington History of Bloomington (City Website), History of Bloomington (from town/city website) Mc - Lean County Museum of History (Museum Finding Aids), Bloomington Fire of June 1900 "Amtrak Fact Sheet Illinois 2008" (PDF).
"CIRA: Central Illinois Regional Airport".
"Miller Park Zoo :: Bloomington Parks & Recreation - Bloomington, Illinois".
"Prairie Vista Golf Course :: Bloomington Parks & Recreation - Bloomington, Illinois".
"City of Bloomington, Illinois : BCPA".
"Mc - Lean County Arts Center - MCAC Home".
"Illinois Wesleyan: IWU Theatre Box Office".
"Illinois Wesleyan: School of Music".
"Bloomington Parks & Recreation - Bloomington, Illinois".
"Home - Illinois Shakespeare Festival - Illinois State".
"Mc - Lean County Museum of History".
"MCA Art The Mc - Lean County Art Scene".
Mc - Lean County Fair https://mcleancountyfair.org/.
"Illinois Fusion Soccer".
"Illinois Wesleyan: About IWU".
Normal, Illinois website, Sister City Partnership Beer Nuts positioned in Bloomington, Official Website Wikimedia Commons has media related to Bloomington, Illinois.
Bloomington, Illinois City Of Bloomington Bloomington Public Schools, District 87 South side firehouse assembled after Great Fire of 1900 - Pantagraph (Bloomington, Illinois newspaper) Central Illinois once "emporium" of malaria - Pantagraph (Bloomington, Illinois newspaper) Municipalities and communities of Mc - Lean County, Illinois, United States
Categories:
Populated places established in 1822 - Cities in Illinois - Cities in Mc - Lean County, Illinois - County seats in Illinois - Bloomington, Illinois - Bloomington Normal - 1822 establishments in Illinois
|