Local History

[Guardian Angel]

Oh to be 30 again.....................   I worked as a OB tech at St. Elizabeth hospital in 1963-64.  The old section was in good shape then and to be honest I wondered why they were tearing it down too.   I don't have a clue why they did, but I have heard a lot of people were upset over it.  It's too bad it couldn't have been utilized somehow....

[SpiritMan]

Oops! Where did this thread come from? I've been working too hard! But it's a great idea. I have some historic negatives I've been trying to get developed, but can't find anyone who can do it. They're too old and the wrong size for machines. But as soon as I find the right studio I'll post them here.   

[pesoto74]

I had a friend who had some offices in the section of St. E's that they tore down back in the 90's.  That part of the building also seemed like it was in good shape and her office there was really nice.  She ended up having to move out because due to various regulations it cost the hospital more to rent out the building then it did to close it.  It was really insane.  So since they couldn't use that part of the building for anything it just sat empty until they finally tore it down. 

I am not sure what the reason for tearing the rest of the hospital down was. 

[Ray Nolan]

Just put it on the list of many other demolition of buildings that have taken place over the years. It seems like the City of Danville has been in a destructive mode rather than a constructive mode for quite awhile. There is quite a lot of vacant property the last time I was there. Can you say, "regress over progress"?

If you want a little history, Oops,......The Danville population in the late 1950's was well over 42,000. What is the population today?  :-(Maybe....26,000...including the prison population out by Lynch Road).
 

[Oops Did I Do That]

I think its nice to hear from someone who actually worked in St Elizabeth......I always wondered why they wouldnt just sell it and re open it as offices or something...I was quite upset over it being torn down myself,I seen no real reason for it.........Its another historical building due to the fact either the city or the county does not want to preserve its history.............I don't believe we have many historical buildings left..........It seems like the first time something goes wrong with an old building they want to tear tear and tear down to make way for MORE parking lots.Its really sad to see the history of Danville end up in shambles like this......................... .And for anyone who has historical photos I would be more than pleased to see them,and thank you advance.....................

[SpiritMan]

 

Now we can all say: "I was born in that parking lot over there!" Nice sense of history, isn't it?

[pesoto74]

It does seem like while a lot of towns now work to preserve their history and see it as a selling point for their community that Danville still seems to think of tearing things down first.  I know that there are some local efforts at preservation, however it is amazing to think of all the buildings that have been lost just in the last twenty years. 

[andmac]

I am among the rest of you that will now drive by the empty lot and say that is where I was born. Already do that when I go by the site of Elmwood School, and say, I went to school there for a year.

I think somewhere there is a master plan in Danville to destroy every landmark in Rabbittown!


By the way, it is Historic Preservation Month!

Danville and Vermilion County on the whole is way behind the curve on historic preservation. Part of this has to do with economy. People are so desperate for new business they will do anything. Case in point is Rossville, where the entire character of the historic downtown is now going to be altered by a cookie cutter designed Casey's. No efforts to have it try and match the rest of the downtown architectural style was made, no effort to make the signage less intrusive, and no effort made to try and landscape. These recommendations were made by the Rossville Community Organization but were ignored by Casey's and frowned on by the Rossville mayor.

[andmac]

By the way--they are dedicating a memorial to Curtis Redden on what is left of Redden Square this Saturday at 10AM. It is a nice gesture.

I am going to start another thread, if you all don't mind, called Vermilon County Historic Buildings and Sites Danger List. It is designed to create some awareness to this problem and to list information about historic preservation.

[Guardian Angel]

Good idea andmac.................

[andmac]

Since it is kind of serious subject, I am putting it up in Your opinions. Any objections?

[pesoto74]

I think it is a good idea.  I have been working off and on on a thing to plot historic sites on a map.  I just haven't got around to putting it together yet.  Probably that thread might get me going on it.

[pesoto74]

Here an idea of the map you can make.  You need flash player to see it, which probably almost all computers have. It shows pointers to a few sites on the National Register of Historic Places in Danville.  If you click on the markers you can get more info.  You also can drag the map and switch to other views like a satellite view.
http://thebriarpatch.ecillinois.com/test/danville.php

[Butterfly]

This is for Andmac !

Big bang at Heritage Days.
 
With deafening cracks and billowing white smoke, American and French troops exchanged fire with British soldiers Saturday afternoon as St. Charles hosted the annual Lewis and Clark Heritage Days festival. The festival in Frontier Park continues Sunday, with activities from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

More than 100 people watched Saturday - many shuddering with each round - as re-enactors in period costumes fired cannons, muskets and rifles at each other to show off 18th- and 19th-century military tactics.

Other activities included a performance by a fife and drum corps and a sheep-herding demonstration. About 40 or 50 members of the Discovery Expedition of St. Charles - the group re-creating Lewis and Clark's famous journey - camped in Frontier Park. Tents housing crafts vendors hawking everything from soap to silver jewelry and refreshments filled the park.

Story

[pesoto74]

I am not talking about anyone in particular, but a lot of us are getting of an age where we have lived through a lot of local history.  I think many of us were around to see when Danville may have been at its peak.  That time for me would have to have been after WWII until the 70's when the local economy started going downhill.  Although from what I hear Danville was also fairly prosperous for several decades before the great depression, however I don't think that there is anyone here who remembers those times. 

I didn't grow up in Danville, however we used to go there fairly often in the 60's to visit my great-aunt May and to shop(does anyone drive from very far to shop in Danville these days?).  I remember the first time that I came to Danville after having not been there since I was kid.  It was just when they were getting ready to tear down the buildings in the area where County Market is now.  I was shocked by how much the downtown had changed.  I remember feeling sad to see that some nice old buildings were coming down. 

Anyway I imagine that a lot of you have some first hand experience of local history.  Maybe it would be good share some of the bits and pieces while we still can remember.