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McLean County had a seat when formed. "would be located later." the bill declared. Promoters of the new county offered James Allin's property for the new town. Bloomington was set out after his acceptance. On July 4, 1831, its lots were auctioned in a raucous auction. Few highways existed at the time, but excellent soils drew new farmers who set up shop in the new county.

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

An officer on patrol noticed a fire at a laundry across the street from the municipal hall and police station in 1900. A large portion of downtown was destroyed when an arsonist set fire to a building only blocks away. When it came to rebuilding the neighborhood that had been destroyed, local architects George Miller and Paul O. Moratz came to the rescue.

In 1977, Ray and Irene Denbesten established Denbesten Real Estate in Bloomington, Illinois. Their daughter, Cathy Denbesten, now runs the business. Call them right now at (309) 6662-4228 if you need assistance purchasing or selling a house.

In the 2010 census, the city had 76,610 residents and 30,454 families. 2,814.8/sq mile (1,099.5/km2) population density 1261.5 housing units per square mile (492.8/km2) = 34,339 dwelling units The city's racial composition was 77.5 percent white, 10.1 percent black, 0.3 percent native, 7.0 percent Asian, 1.42 percent other, and 2.9 percent mixed. 5.6 percent of the population was Hispanic or Latino.

Among the 34,339 homes in 2010, 28.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 46.7% were married couples living together, 9.1% had a female householder without a husband present, and 41.1% were non-families.. 32.6 percent of all households were made up of people, and 9.2 percent included an elderly person living alone. The average number of people living in a home was 2.41, while the average number of people in a family was 3.12.

In the city, 27.3 percent were under the age of 20, 9.0 percent were 18-24, 29.8 percent were 25-44, 23.8 percent were 45-64, and 10.2 percent were 65 or over. 33 was the median age. 95.4 men for every 100 females.

The Bloomington Ice Center (formerly known as the Pepsi Ice Center) is an indoor public ice skating facility that is run by the Bloomington Parks & Recreation Department. It has a full-size sheet of ice that is 200' x 85' and can be used by anyone. The facility has ice skating lessons, public skating sessions, a full hockey program, learn to curl and curling leagues, skate rental, and a concession stand where you can buy food and drink. You can also rent skates.

The Parks, Recreation, Golf, and Miller Park Zoo departments 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, Highland Park Golf Course, Holiday Park are just a few of the parks and golf courses that the Department of Parks and Recreation manages.

Alcoholic drinks and smoking are forbidden in all parks, however dogs are permitted on a leash in all of them. Water spray parks, extensive playgrounds, miniature golf, baseball/softball diamonds, soccer fields, cricket grounds, and illuminated tennis courts are common features of these facilities. Indoor tennis courts may be found at the Evergreen Racket Club in Everett, Washington. At O'Neil Park (to the west) and Holiday Park (to the east), there are two public swimming pools (east). Indoor pools are available in YMCA, YWCA, and private fitness clubs.

There's a 24-mile (39-km) running, walking, cycling, and rollerblading route in Bloomington-Normal. Crossing busy streets requires bridges and tunnels to keep the route safe from traffic flow. The path runs north–south from Kerrick Road in Normal to Grove Street in Bloomington, following the abandoned Illinois Central Gulf railroad.

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.

Illinois Wesleyan University and a campus of Heartland Community College, which opened in 1990, are both in Bloomington. Illinois State University, which opened in Normal in 1857, is in Normal, too. American Passion Play is staged every year in the springtime. The home of Supreme Court associate justice David Davis, built in 1872, is a state historic site. Bloomington has museums about history and aviation, a zoo, a summer Shakespeare festival, and a lot of other things. People who were vice presidents of the United States, Adlai E. Stevenson, and his grandson, Adlai E. Stevenson II, are both buried in Evergreen Cemetery. In Shirley, which is southwest of the city, there is a gem and mineral museum that you can visit. When did this happen? 64,808 people lived there in 2000. The Bloomington-Normal Metro Area had 150,433 people. In 2010, there were 76,601 people living there.

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.

Currently in its 92nd season, American Passion Play is the United States' longest-running Passion Play. The Bloomington Center for the Performing Arts hosts the annual Passion Play, which depicts the life of Jesus Christ from beginning to end.

The Illinois Shakespeare Festival includes productions performed in an open-air, Elizabethan-style theatre within historic Ewing Manor each summer. Every time there is a Green Show, the audience can enjoy a picnic on the grounds before the show. They will be entertained by strolling Madrigal singers and other entertainers.

For more information about the Lincoln's Bloomington Festival, click here.

The McLean County Fair, which takes place in August at the McLean County Fairgrounds in Bloomington, is touted as "Home of the World's Largest County 4-H Fair" Livestock exhibitions, a film festival, and displays on food, nutrition, and health, plant science, engineering & technology, and environment & natural resources are among the 4-H events. Tractor pulls and different musical groups are part of the evening grandstand entertainment.

Bloomington architect Phil Hooten created Ewing Manor in the post-Victorian period's Channel-Norman style, which was popular among the wealthy. Jens Jensen, who also built Springfield's Lincoln Memorial Gardens, developed the surrounding gardens. The Illinois Shakespeare Festival is held every summer in the theatre on the grounds.

The McLean County Museum of History was created in 1892, the same year as the McLean County Historical Society. The museum, which is housed within the former McLean County Courthouse, contains permanent and rotating exhibitions that examine Central Illinois' history. The National Register of Historic Places recognizes this place.

Miller Park

A Bell Sea Cobra, a Huey helicopter, and an F-14 Tomcat are among the restored aircraft on exhibit at the Prairie Aviation Museum.

In addition to members of the Stevenson family, the Bloomington-Normal community is buried in the Evergreen Memorial Cemetery, popularly known as the Evergreen Cemetery. Among those buried there are Adlai E. Stevenson I, Grover Cleveland's vice president, and Adlai E. Stevenson II, Illinois governor, ambassador to the United Nations, and two-time Democratic presidential contender. Letitia Green Stevenson, Stevenson's wife and the second National President-General of the Daughters of the American Revolution, is buried in the same cemetery as her sister Julia Green Scott. There are also the graves of Abraham Lincoln's friend and mentor David Davis, baseball great Charles Radbourn, and Dorothy Gage, the inspiration for the main heroine in The Wizard of Oz and the niece of author L. Frank Baum, all of whom are buried there.

The David Davis Mansion gives visitors a look into the life of Abraham Lincoln's friend and mentor, David Davis, who served on the United States Supreme Court and was a crucial figure in Lincoln's 1860 presidential campaign. The Davis Mansion, built in 1872, is a model of mid-Victorian design and elegance, combining Italianate and Second Empire architectural aspects. His Bloomington house, which was passed down through three generations, had all of the contemporary amenities of the time: a coal-burning furnace, gas lights, and indoor plumbing. On the National Register of Historic Places, the David Davis Mansion is a historic landmark.

The former Montefiore Synagogue is one of Illinois' rare Moorish Revival structures and one of America's oldest synagogues.

Bloomington, Illinois

The Bloomington Center for the Performing Arts offers Behind the Curtain Tours led by a group of specially trained docents. The tours showcase the neo-Classical interior design of the building and explain all of the building's updates and renovations.

The 36-room mansion of Judge David Davis is open for visits by both groups and individuals. Docents describe the rich social and cultural history of America's western frontier from the 1850s through the 1880s by displaying artifacts and telling tales about the Davis family. Servant life, domestic life, and technology at the advent of the industrial era, family history (with an emphasis on children), and Victorian architecture are some of the specific issues covered.

The mansion is a precursor of the modern homes and comfort systems that we take for granted today, and is a reminder of the role Illinois played in the nation's history when Abraham Lincoln was President. Arrangements can also be made for a special Tea Ladies Inc. program at the mansion.

An audio driving tour named Lincoln's Bloomington and Normal, Illinois is available through the McLean County Museum of History. President Abraham Lincoln is portrayed as a returning guest on the CD-based audio tour, discussing the locations he visited and their significance. The audio tour covers Kersey Fell's Law Office, where Jesse Fell advised Lincoln run for president; the house of Asahel Gridley, Lincoln's friend and client in a defamation action; the Miller-Davis Building, where Lincoln practiced law; and 14 more places, all written and performed by James Keeran.

The Bloomington-Normal Area Convention and Visitors Bureau conducts monthly Twin City Tours. Tours start at the McLean County Museum.

There is just one place in the world where Beer Nuts Brand Snacks are made: Bloomington, Illinois. In Bloomington, there are two locations of the Beer Nuts Company Stores that give a video tour of the facility and the history of the brand.

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).

The community has grown into a second district, McLean County Unit District No. 5. Originally serving primarily suburban communities, including Normal, Unit Five currently has a majority of students from Bloomington. Unit Five runs two high schools, four junior highs, and countless primary schools. In 2010, Unit Five began construction on its fourth junior high school, George Evans Junior High School (EJHS). Unit 5 built two new elementary schools in Bloomington and anticipates 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 Bloomington students can also go to Metcalf Elm./Jr. School and University High School, which are both lab schools at Illinois State University.

There are 2,100 students at Illinois Wesleyan University, which was established in 1850. The student/faculty ratio is 12 to 1. For a long time, it was a part of the United Methodist Church. The College of Liberal Arts has 17 academic departments; the College of Fine Arts has professional schools of art, music, and theatre; and the School of Nursing is part of the university. The College of Liberal Arts is divided into three divisions. The five-story Ames Library, the Center for Natural Science, and the Shirk Center for Athletics and Recreation have all been added at Illinois Wesleyan in the last decade. There have been more than 100 athletes from Illinois Wesleyan University elected to the Academic All-American team since 1970. Hairmasters Institute of Cosmetology offers classes in pivot point hair sculpture, hair design and long hair design, hair texture, hair color, people skills and salon management training.

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 flanked by turn-of-the-century buildings, many of which have fascinating histories. Museums, banks, a legal and administrative center, residential housing, a substantial artist community, as well as a variety of specialist retail companies and supporting services, are all available to visitors. Restaurants abound, and the nightlife is vibrant.

There are government buildings in downtown Bloomington, including those for the City of Bloomington and McLean County. There are also a lot of great specialty stores, bars, restaurants, and art galleries there, as well as government buildings.