Bloomington, Illinois

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McLean County, Illinois, is home to the city of Bloomington, which also serves as the county seat. Bloomington-Normal is the second-largest city in the Bloomington-Normal metropolitan region and is located next door to Normal. Bloomington is located 162 miles (261 kilometers) northeast of St. Louis and 135 miles (217 kilometers) southwest of Chicago. The city had a population of 78,680 in 2020, making it the 13th-largest city in Illinois and the fifth-largest city outside of the Chicago Metropolitan Area, according to the census. There are around 130,000 people living in the twin cities when they are combined with Normal. Illinois Wesleyan University and Illinois State University are located in the Bloomington-Normal, Illinois, metro region. area. State Farm Insurance and Country Financial are also headquartered there.

During the early 1800s, the Kickapoo people lived in a large grove near the Bloomington area. Before the first European settlers came to the area, the Kickapoo people lived there. On December 25, 1830, when McLean County was formed, Bloomington was chosen as the county seat. It came from the town of Keg Grove, which later became Blooming Grove.

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 2010, the city had 76,610 residents and 30,454 homes. The density was 2,814.8/sq mile (1,099.5/km2). 34,339 dwelling units at 1,261.5/sq mile (492.8/km2). The city's racial composition was 77.5 percent white, 10.1 percent black, 0.3 percent Native American, 7.0 percent Asian, 1.42 percent other, and 2.9 percent mixed. Latinos of any race made up 5.6% of the population.

As a whole, the City of Bloomington and McLean County are the fastest-growing metro area in Illinois. Over the years from 1990 to 2006, the population of the area has grown by 28%. There has been the most growth in Bloomington, where the U.S. Census Bureau did a special census of the city in February 2006, and found that the population had grown by 15.7% in less than six years.

A lot of people lived in the city, with 27.3 percent under the age of 20 and 9.0 percent between the ages of 18 and 24. There were 29.8 percent between the ages of 25 and 45, as well as 23.8 percent between the ages of 45 and 64. It was 33 years old in the middle. The number of men in a group of 100 women was 95.4 for every 100.

An average family earned $81,166, while a typical household earned $58,662. Males made $56,597 compared to $39,190 for women. The city has a $32,672 per capita income. One in five households and one in ten people were poor, with 12.6 percent under 18 and 6.3 percent 65+.

It has four parts: Parks, Recreation, Golf, and the Miller Park Zoo. 44 parks and three golf courses make up the Department's 1,100 acres (4.5 km2) of land. They include: Airport Park, Atwood Wayside, Angler's Lake Nature Preserve, Bittner Park and Brookridge Park. They also include: Ewing Park 1, Ewing Park 2, EwingPark 3 and Fell AvenuePark. The Department also runs Lincoln Leisure Center and the Lincoln Recreation Center.

6:00am to 10:00pm: Parks are open from 6:00am to 10:00pm. Alcoholic drinks and smoking are not allowed, and pets are allowed in all parks on a leash. These parks often have water spray parks, elaborate playgrounds, miniature golf, baseball/softball diamonds, soccer fields, cricket grounds, and lighted tennis courts, among other things. The Evergreen Racket Club has indoor courts for tennis. O'Neil Park (to the west) and Holiday Park (to the east) both have outdoor public swimming pools (east). The YMCA, YWCA, and private health clubs all have indoor swimming pools.

The Bloomington-Normal Constitution Trail is a 24-mile (39 km) jogging, walking, cycling, and rollerblading trail that operates on dedicated right-of-way through much of the city. Bridges and tunnels are used to separate the trail from traffic when crossing the busiest streets. The trail runs from Kerrick Road in Normal to Grove Street in Bloomington. It follows the abandoned Illinois Central Gulf (ICG) railroad from Kerrick Road in Normal to Grove Street in Bloomington.

At Normal City Hall Annex, the east–west section crosses the north segment and continues east to Towanda-Barnes Road. The Liberty Branch runs from Commerce Drive to the Old Farm Lakes Subdivision, starting at Commerce Drive and ending at Old Farm Lakes Subdivision. From Lincoln Street to Route 9 West, the Freedom Branch runs. Throughout the region, parking is accessible in adjacent lots. Walkers, runners, in-line skaters, skateboarders, cyclists, wheelchair users, and other non-motorized modes of transportation are welcome to utilize the path. It is not cleared of snow during the winter months and is open to skiers weather permitting.

Illinois Wesleyan University (1850) and a campus of Heartland Community College (1990) are in Bloomington, and Illinois State University (1857) is in Normal. American Passion Play is staged every year in spring. The home of David Davis, a member of the Supreme Court, was built in 1872 and is a state historic site. Bloomington has museums about history and aviation, a zoo, and a summer Shakespeare festival. Both Adlai E. Stevenson, vice president (1893–97) of the United States, and his grandson, Adlai E. Stevenson II, Illinois governor and two-time Democratic Party presidential nominee, are buried in Evergreen Cemetery. You can go to a museum of gems and minerals in Shirley, which is south of the city. 1839. 64,808 people lived there in 2000. The Bloomington-Normal Metro Area had 150,433 people. In 2010, there were 76,601 people in the area.

To date, The McLean County Arts Center has served Central Illinois for more than 130 years. 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.

Balaban & Katz, the original creators of the traditional cinema palace, built the 1,000-seat Castle Theatre in 1916. The property was a long-time favorite of locals and visitors alike. A $1.5 million makeover just brought the Castle back to its former grandeur. Today, the Castle hosts corporate, public, and private events.

The Westbrook Auditorium at Illinois Wesleyan University serves around 200 music majors and a few hundred students each year. Every semester, a variety of musical performances from various time periods are presented, and public admission seating is free at most of them.

Two main plays are produced each year by the Miller Park Outdoor Summer Theatre, an amateur theater company supported by the city of Bloomington, IN.

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

Pavilion in Miller Park

People who were important in Bloomington-Normal are buried there, including members of the Stevenson family. Evergreen Memorial Cemetery, also known as the Evergreen Cemetery, is the burial place for many of these people. Both Adlai E. Stevenson I, Grover Cleveland's vice president, and Adlai E. Stevenson II, governor of Illinois, ambassador to the United Nations, and two times Democratic candidate for president of the United States, are buried in the same place. People who are also buried there are Letitia Green Stevenson's husband and Julia Green Scott. Letitia was the second President-General of the Daughters of the American Revolution, and Julia is her sister, the seventh President-General, and both are buried there. Other historical figures who are buried there include David Davis, a friend and mentor of Abraham Lincoln; Charles Radbourn, one of the best pitchers in 19th-century baseball; and Dorothy Gage, the niece of author L. Frank Baum and the inspiration for the main character in the Wizard of Oz.

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

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Docents from the Bloomington Center for the Performing Arts lead Behind the Curtain Tours. Visitors may learn about all of the building's changes and improvements as well as its neo-Classical interior architecture.

Both groups and individuals may take a tour of Judge David Davis's 36-room mansion at the David Davis Mansion. Visitors may learn about America's western frontier's rich social and cultural history via objects and tales related to the Davis family. Family history (with an emphasis on children), servant life, domestic life and technology at the beginning of the industrial revolution, and Victorian architecture are some of the specific topics covered.

The house is a forerunner of today's contemporary residences and comfort systems, and it serves as a reminder of Illinois' historical significance during Abraham Lincoln's presidency. A customized Tea Ladies Inc. event at the estate may also be arranged.

The McLean County Museum of History has an audio tour called Lincoln's Bloomington and Normal, Illinois. You can listen to it while you drive. In this CD-based audio tour, President Abraham Lincoln talks about the places he visited and what they meant to him. 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 case; the Miller-Davis Building, where Lincoln practiced law; and 14 other places.

Monthly tours of Bloomington and Normal are offered by the Bloomington-Normal Area Convention and Visitors Bureau under the name Twin City Tours. At the McLean County Museum of History, tours begin.

Eastland Mall is the main shopping center in Bloomington. This is where most people go to buy things. Eastland Mall has stores like Aeropostale, American Eagle Outfitters, Applebee's, Buckle, Finish Line, Limited, Old Navy, Rogers & Hollands, Talbot's, and more, as well as a lot of fun things to do. As a result, the mall has been going downhill in the last few years. This is in line with the general decline of shopping malls in the United States, though.

Museums, banks, a legal and governmental center, residential housing, a strong artist population, and a variety of specialized retail stores and related services may all be found in downtown Bloomington. Restaurants abound, and the nightlife is vibrant. Tour de Chocolat, Farmers' Market, Tour de Metro, Pub Crawl, and Once Upon a Holiday are just a few of the spectacular events that take place throughout the year. Downtown Bloomington is home to the City of Bloomington's and McLean County's government buildings, as well as significant companies such as State Farm Insurance, specialized shops, pubs, restaurants, and art galleries.

Beer Nuts Brand Snacks are solely produced in Bloomington, Illinois. It is possible to take a video tour of the Beer Nuts Brand Snacks facility in Bloomington, as well as learn more about its history.

There are two school districts that serve Bloomington. Bloomington Public Schools District 87 serves the city's interior, with one high school (Bloomington High School), one junior high school (Bloomington Junior High School), six elementary schools (Oakland, Washington, Bent, Irving, Sheridan, and Stevenson elementary schools), and one pre-school (Sarah Raymond Pre-School) (named for the first female superintendent for Bloomington).

McLean County Unit District No. 5 has expanded the city's limits to include a second district. The majority of Unit Five's pupils are now from Bloomington, despite the fact that the school was initially intended to serve the suburbs. School districts in Unit Five include two high schools, four junior high schools, as well as a slew of elementary and middle schools. George Evans Junior High School, or EJHS, was the fourth junior high school to be built by Unit Five in 2010. As of 2011, Unit 5 has completed the building of two new Bloomington primary schools and anticipates the need for a third high school in the near future.

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.

Founded in 1850, Illinois Wesleyan Institution is a private residential university with a student-to-faculty ratio of 12 to 1. It used to be a part of the United Methodist Church. The University is divided into three colleges: the College of Liberal Arts, which has 17 academic departments; the College of Fine Arts, which has professional art, music, and theatre arts schools; and the School of Nursing. The five-story Ames Library, the Center for Natural Science, and the Shirk Center for Athletics and Recreation have all been added to Illinois Wesleyan University in the last ten years. Since 1970, Illinois Wesleyan University, an NCAA Division III school, has had over 100 athletes named to the Academic All-American team. Hairmasters Institute of Cosmetology, Inc. offers classes in pivot point hair sculpture, hair design, long hair design, hair texture, hair color, people skills, and salon management.

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.