Bloomington, Illinois

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Bloomington is a city in McLean County, Illinois, in the United States. It is also the county seat of McLean County. If you live in Bloomington, you're next door to Normal. It's the bigger of the two main cities in the Bloomington-Normal metro area. Bloomington is 135 miles (217 km) southwest of Chicago, and 162 miles (261 km) northeast of St. Louis, so it's in the middle of two states. There were 78,680 people living in the city at the time of the 2020 Census. This made it the 13th-most populated city in Illinois, and the fifth-most populated city in the state outside of the Chicago Metropolitan Area. Together, the twin cities have about 130,000 people. There are two big universities in the Bloomington area: Illinois Wesleyan and Illinois State, both in the state. It also serves as the headquarters for State Farm Insurance and Country Financial, two of the companies.

People from all over came to the town's center, which is now called Downtown Bloomington, to trade and do business. Abraham Lincoln, who was working as a lawyer in Springfield, Illinois, was one of the people who came to the town center. A well-known Bloomington resident, Jesse W. Fell, came up with the idea for Lincoln-Douglas debates in 1854 and played a big part in getting Lincoln to run for President.

Fire at a laundry across from the old city hall and police station was found in 1900. But the fire engulfed most of downtown, notably north and east of the courthouse. Rebuilt by local architects George Miller and Paul O. Moratz, the charred portion was rapidly restored.

Ray and Irene Denbesten established Denbesten Real Estate in Bloomington, Illinois, in 1977. Cathy Denbesten, their daughter, now runs the business. For assistance in purchasing or selling a house, call (309) 6662-4228.

One of Illinois' fastest-growing urban areas is Bloomington and McLean County. Between 1990 and 2006, the population of the region increased by 28%. Bloomington's population grew by 15.7 percent in less than six years, according to a special census performed by the U.S. Census Bureau in February 2006.

People in the city ranged in age from 0 to 64, with 23.3% under the age of 20, 9.0% between the ages of 18 and 20, 29.8% between the ages of 25 and 44, and 10.2% over the age of 64. The average person's age was 33. There were 95.4 men for every 100 females.

Family income was $81,166 and family income was $58,662 in the city's median household income. Males earned $56,597 on average, compared to $39,190 for females. The city's average annual income was $32,672. An estimated 5.7% of households and 11.0% of the population lived in poverty, with 12.6% of those under the age of 18 and 6.3% of those 65 and over being among those at risk.

(formerly Pepsi Ice Center) is an indoor public ice skating facility managed by Bloomington Parks & Recreation. Learn to curl or join a league at the facility. Rental skates and refreshments are available.

A previous home of the Central Hockey League's PrairieThunder and Blaze, the Grossinger Motors Arena (originally the U.S. Cellular Coliseum) opened in 2006 near southwest downtown Bloomington. As of 2014, it also hosts games for the Illinois State University club hockey team and area youth hockey programs. The Coliseum has a fixed seating capacity of 7,000 but can accommodate over 8,000 for special events. The venue may also be used as a theatre with a retractable curtain, seating 2,500-5,000 people. Since its inception, the Coliseum has staged concerts, family performances, ice shows, racing, and tradeshows.

The Ladies' Library Association, which had been founded in 1856, inaugurated the Bloomington Public Library in 1857. Book contributions and membership fees were the mainstays of the little library. 105 West North Street was the library's new address in 1871. (which is now West Monroe Street.) The library reopened when local citizens contributed $1,100 to sustain it after it was closed owing to a lack of money in 1880. The library relocated to a new two-story structure on property provided by Mrs. Sarah B. Withers at the junction of East and Washington streets in 1888. The library's name was changed to "Withers Library." in recognition of the contribution.

In 1976, Citizens for a New Public Library starts a group called "Friends of the Library." They want to get voters to let the city build a new public library. The campaign was successful and, in 1977, the library reopened in its current home at 205 East Olive Street as "Bloomington Public Library." Currently, the library has a number of public programs, including a Bookmobile, which was first called "Library on Wheels" in 1926. The Bookmobile delivers books to people in their own neighborhoods.

Parks, Recreation, Golf, and the Miller Park Zoo are the sections that make up the Bloomington Parks & Recreation Department. 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, Holiday Park, Lincoln Leisure Center, Lincoln Leisure Center Golf Course, Lincoln Leisure Center Golf Course, Lincoln Leisure Center Golf Course, Lincoln Leisure Center Golf Course,

Alcoholic drinks, smoking, and dogs are all forbidden in the parks, which are open from 6:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. It's common for these amenities to have water spray parks and sophisticated playgrounds as well as miniature golf courses and baseball/softball pitches. Indoor tennis courts are available at the Evergreen Racket Club. O'Neil Park (west) and Holiday Park (north) both include outdoor public swimming pools (east). Indoor pools are available in YMCAs, YWCAs, and other non-profit organizations as well as commercial fitness clubs.

Many animals and zookeepers can be seen at Miller Park Zoo. Zoo inhabitants include a Sumatran tiger, river otter, Galapagos tortoise, Amur leopard, sun bears, reindeer, sea lion, red pandas, lemus, bald eagles, pallas cats and red wolves. The zoo has a lot of different things to see, like Wallaby WalkAbout, ZooLab, the Children's Zoo, Animals of Asia, and the Katthoefer Animal Building. New to the Zoo is the Tropical America Rainforest.

East of Towanda-Barnes Road, the east–west axis meets the north axis at the Normal City Hall Annex. Beginning at Commerce Drive and ending at the Old Farm Lakes Subdivision, the Liberty Branch is Lincoln Street is the starting point of the Freedom Branch, which finishes at Route 9 West. There are many adjacent parking lots in the vicinity where you may park. Walking, running, in-line skating, skateboarding, and other non-motorized modes of mobility are permitted on the path. As long as the weather permits, it's open to skiers throughout the winter months.

For the 150th anniversary of Illinois State University, the Ewing Cultural Center dedicated the Genevieve Green Gardens in 2007. The gardens were designed by a number of architects and landscape designers, including the late Bruce V. Green, an ardent gardener who generously donated $5.2 million to get the project off the ground. An expanded pathway and more flora have been included in the grounds, which feature a formal plaza that leads guests to the manor's main entrance, grass terrace, and theater walk.

Heartland Community College's campus in Bloomington and Illinois State University's in Normal are two of the state's oldest colleges. The American Passion Play is an annual spring event. David Davis's house, built in 1872, is a state historic monument. Bloomington is home to museums dedicated to history and aviation, zoos, and a Shakespeare festival. Vice President Adlai E. Stevenson (1893–97) and his grandson Adlai E. Stevenson II (1899–2002), Governor of Illinois and two-time Democratic Party presidential contender, are buried in the Evergreen Cemetery in Chicago, Illinois. Shirley, southwest of the city, is a gem and mineral museum. 1839, Inc. Bloomington-population Normal's has grown from 64,808 in 2000 to 76,601 in 2010.

There's a festival park going up and a creative center for arts education in Bloomington's new Cultural District. Over twenty local performing arts groups call the facility home. The Bloomington Center for the Performing Arts hosts over 400 performances and community activities annually.

Central Illinois' McLean County Cultural Center is one of the Midwest's oldest arts organizations, having been in existence for more than 130 years already. 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.

Volunteers run one of the oldest community theaters in town, the Community Players Theater on Robinhood Lane off Towanda Avenue. This year marked the theater's 88th season since opening.

Each year, the Westbrook Auditorium at Illinois Wesleyan University hosts roughly 200 music majors and several hundred IWU students. Each semester, a variety of musical performances from various time periods are presented, with the majority of events being free and open to the public.

Miller Park Outdoor Summer Theatre, a Bloomington, Indiana-based amateur theater company, puts on two major plays a year.

The 92nd season of American Passion Play is the country's longest-running Passion Play. The Passion Play is set in Palestine and depicts the full life of Christ. It is performed each spring at the Bloomington Center for the Performing Arts.

The McLean County Fair is billed as the '"Home of the World's Largest County 4-H Fair" taking place each August at the McLean County Fairgrounds in Bloomington. 4-H activities include: livestock shows, a film festival, and exhibits around food, nutrition & health, plant science, engineering & technology, and environment & natural resources. Evening Grandstand Entertainment has tractor pulls and different musical acts.

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

Bloomington Illinois

Behind the Curtain Tours are led by specially trained docents at the Bloomington Center for the Performing Arts. All of the building's updates and renovations are explained during the tours.

For both groups and individuals, the David Davis Mansion gives tours of the 36-room home of Judge David Davis. Docents use artifacts and stories about the Davis family to show how the rich social and cultural history of the American west from the 1850s to the 1880s was shown. Family history, with a focus on children, as well as servants' lives and Victorian architecture are some of the topics.

This is a good way to remember how important Illinois was when Abraham Lincoln was President. The mansion is a precursor to the modern homes and comfort systems we take for granted today. It also shows how important Illinois was when Lincoln was President. The mansion can also be set up for a special Tea Ladies Inc. event.

There is an audio tour of Lincoln's Bloomington and Normal, Illinois, by the McLean County Museum of History. In this CD-based audio tour, President Abraham Lincoln talks about the places he visited and how important they were to him when he was there. It was written by James Keeran and narrated by him. It includes Kersey Fell's law office, where Jesse Fell told Lincoln to run for president; 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 places.

Twin City Tours are offered by the Bloomington-Normal Area Convention and Visitors Bureau on a monthly basis. The McLean County Museum of History is the starting point for tours.

Bloomington's primary retail destination is Eastland Mall. As well as retailers like Aeropostale, American Eagle Outfitters and Applebee's, Eastland Mall also has a range of leisure activities including a movie theater and a bowling alley for those who want to relax rather than shop. However, the mall's popularity has waned in recent years, as has the popularity of shopping malls in general in the United States.

There are two public school districts in Bloomington, which are both located in the city. Schools in Bloomington's inner suburbs are part of Bloomington Public Schools District 87, which has a single high school (Bloomington High School), a single middle school (Bloomington Junior High School), and six elementary schools (named for the first female superintendent for Bloomington).

Growth has taken the city well into the boundaries of a second district, McLean County Unit District No. 5. 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 numerous elementary schools. As of 2010, Unit Five was constructing its fourth junior high school which is called George Evans Junior High School more commonly known as EJHS. The construction was finished in 2011 Unit 5 was also making two new elementary schools in Bloomington, and is projecting the need for another high school.

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.

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.

Downtown Bloomington is home to the City of Bloomington's and McLean County's government buildings, as well as a variety of specialized shops, pubs, restaurants, and art galleries.