Went to see the parents for a portion of the holiday and managed to get some pics in of what I think will be the next "big" city of downstate Illinois.
The line to get on the train.
2 hours start to finish. Gotta love 80 mph.
Hung out for the day, ate food and talked then got a ride back with some local sight seeing, I've been here a million times but it keeps changing.
Heading to the station.
People were not out driving, this is usually bumper-bumper during rush hour.
State Farm building.
Wesleyan University, which connects with ISU.
Into downtown, an old movie theater which now has church on Sundays, with lofts above.
The old State Farm bldg. (if you couldn't tell)
Some more loft/apartments.
Don't know what these were or are now but maybe kinda cool to live in?
Backside of some business district homes/apartments.
The business district which during the summer is filled with people.
You can still get Coke in a glass bottle at a store here.
Courthouse.
Off to
also known as Normal, Illinois. Lots of new construction and home to the tallest buildings outside of Chicago.
From the air the roof/building is built in the shape of Illinois.
Lobby of the new hotel.
As the light fades and my feet get cold, I'm done.
But I'll be back to buy some records or write my name on the wall.
Actually I think 304 E Green or something like that in Champaign is the tallest outside of Chicago. It was just completed this summer. I could be wrong though.
Either way cool, pics. Looks like they have a nice lil downtown.
Neat pics. Bloomington has a pretty cool downtown.
Quote:
Originally Posted by the urban politician
As an aside, why do you say this will become the next "big" city of downstate Illinois?
It probably has the best economy of downstate cities, and has been growing steadily.
Quote:
Originally Posted by chikid
Actually I think 304 E Green or something like that in Champaign is the tallest outside of Chicago. It was just completed this summer. I could be wrong though.
I was under the impression that the Springfield Hilton was the tallest in the state outside Chicagoland.
Great pics of a city that I have known so little about.
As an aside, why do you say this will become the next "big" city of downstate Illinois?
Well I don't frequent the other cities so they may be developing faster but since it's a 2 hour train from Chicago and business close by and in BNL Caterpillar, John Deere, State Farm, Mitsubishi help it be diversified and I'm sure a lot more but maybe another city is growing faster.
As far as the tallest building it could be some newer buildings in other cities are taller.
It was cold too cold to be taking pics in 6" of snow and Chuck Taylors.
Neat photos! Thanks for braving what looks like a bleak, freezing-cold winter day to get them.
The downtown looks interesting; I've never been there. I've been to Peoria and Pontiac several times, and it looks like I should add Bloomington/Normal to the list - after the snow melts and the trees start to get leaves!
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Ugh, this is the most depressing complex I have ever seen:
I've never been inside and from the outside it does look a little foreboding.
It also reminds me of the K-Mart HQ in DeTroyt which does have a lot of natural light coming in despite it's dark appearance.
Gotta love 80 mph.
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