A personal note about the Westside Neighborhood

My step-daughter Carly was married on Saturday and my husband and I had her chihuahua  (Gotti) stay with  us during the last days of  wedding preparations.. He started puppy life here at our house and we consider him an Historic Westside neighborhood resident.  My husband actually mentioned in his wedding toast  how living close to MacArthur had a big impact on Carly's life, her job (as a Social worker at Butler School) and her wedding (at the Southside Christian Church). Gotti, the chihuahua is off to live in Chatham with Carly and her husband Cal Thomas.  I took a photograph of Carly and Gotti today as he leaves to be a full-time Chatham resident. I am thrilled that the background shows the wonderful bungalow architecture of our Historic Westside Neighborhood. He loved looking out our windows and being part of the activity in the Historic Westside Neighborhood.

The 1910 Sears Roebuck Agricultural Exhibit at the State Fair

Click on image below to enlarge:

In 1910 Sears Roebuck built an exhibit of their agricultural products and catalog house goods for the Illinois State Fair. On top of a pavilion, Sears featured a catalog house that was called the Avondale. The house was open for tours and, of course was decorated with items that could be purchased from their mail-order catalog.

Here is a postcard showing what the house would look like on the ground:

 The exhibit continued for many years and it is unknown when the house was removed from the pavilion. No records exist at Sears or in the files of the Illinois State Fair Museum. The house has become the residence of the fair manager and is still there today.

Here's an ad about this particular house design:

 Floorplan of the house

Here is a postcard showing the interior of the home:

 Dining Room Lamp as advertised in Building Materials catalog (Click on images to enlarge)

 China Cabinet shown in Dinig Room

Furniture made in Springfield that wouldn't be approved today!

In 1909, The Britton Convertible Chair was born!  It is an arts and crafts syle high chair that converts to a table height chair. Thank God that is has a strong base of support or the child pictured would be face-first on the floor! 
The advertising copy says:
MOTHERS Take Notice
No fallie outie
No upsettie
No breakie neckie
No liftie
No tieie innie
No dirty dressie
No dirty floorie.

Unfortuately I cannot find any record of this company at the Sangamon Valley Collection (not even in the city directory) so I assume this invention was not a success.  Please to enjoy -- The Britton Convertible Chair!

The first Crimestoppers ad

The year of this auto theft is not noted on this postcard, but Essex cars (made by the Hudson Car Company) were made from 1919 - 1932. The postcard resembles those that were sent in the 1920's. (clicking on the image will enlarge it)

Entrance to Washington Park, 96 years later

One of the joys of living in the Historic Westside of Springfield is Washington Park. It has always been respected by Springfield residents.  The entrance to the park was on West Grand Boulevard. (Springfield city boundaries were all Grand Streets - North Grand, South Grand, West Grand (MacArthur Blvd now) and East Grand (Martin Luther King Drive). Note the combination of automobiles and horse and buggies.

This postcard was postmarked August 10. 1914 and the message reads  in part "This is some town". (Click on pictures to enlarge).

Here is what the scene looks like today:

Spring Fashions a la Bungalow!

With winter hopefully behind us we can now think about our spring/summer wardrobe. When your morning house work is completed, why not sit on your porch in a Bungalow House Dresss?  When working in the house, always keep one handy  so that "you can slip into one in an instant and if the door-bell rings you are perfectly presentable." The advertisement shown below was published in the Illinois State Journal Register on Sunday, July 27, 1913. (Click on ad to enlarge)

Here is a photograph of a similar dress from the period:

If you're thinking of an Easter Dress, here's a fine choice for a bungalow homeowner:

 If you need an Easter to bonnet, here are some hat styles that were popular in this period:

The next hat was covered in silk that had a high lead content.  This leads to a condition known as "shattering".  The lead is stronger than the silk and causes it to deteriorate after a time.