|
The reconstruction of the log village
now known as Lincoln's New Salem, near Petersburg, is the subject of
the cover article. The desire
to commemorate the site of Lincoln's New Salem began long before the
state of Illinois created Old Salem State Park in 1919 and began
reconstructing the village in the 1930s. Beginning in the 1880s,
several interested individuals and groups in Menard County weighed
in on how to best present Lincoln's hometown of the 1830s, of which
only a single run-down building still existed.
The early efforts of these people
eventually resulted in the fully reconstructed log village, covering
700 acres, that now operates as
Lincoln's New Salem State
Historic Site, visited by more than half a million people
annually.
The article was written by Richard
S. Taylor, Ph.D., chief of technical services for the Illinois
Historic Preservation Agency's Historic Sites Division, and Mark L.
Johnson, Ph.D., a historian with the agency.
Memorial Stadium at the University
of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign is the subject of the second
article, written by Matthew Lindaman, Ph.D., an expert on the
post-World War I stadium-building boom on America's collegiate
campuses.
Two gigantic rallies were conducted
in April 1921 by students and faculty at the U of I to show support
for a living war memorial in the form of a 50,000-seat football
stadium. Excited by the rallies, the student body pledged $700,000
toward the Illinois Memorial Stadium campaign, and the project
began.
A national fund-raising campaign
followed, kicked off during the Oct. 29, 1921, Illinois-Michigan
football game, and promotional brochures were soon printed, with
such titles as "Complete that Stadium for the Fighting Illini" and
"What the Proposed Stadium and Recreation Field Will Mean to the
Women of Illinois."
[to top of second column in
this article] |
Groundbreaking for the stadium was
on Sept. 11, 1922, and although the stadium was not entirely
finished, the first game was played there at homecoming on Nov. 3,
1923, with the Illini facing the University of Chicago.
Pledge collection problems hounded
the project throughout construction, which pushed back the actual
completion until late 1924. The formal dedication was during
homecoming weekend in 1924, in a game in which Harold "Red" Grange
rushed for five Illini touchdowns to beat a heavily favored Michigan
team 39-14 in front of 67,000 fans.
The
stadium still hosts University of Illinois football games.
The Journal of Illinois History is
the foremost publication for readers who value documented research
on the state's history. The journal is published by the Illinois
Historic Preservation Agency and features articles, book reviews,
essays and bibliographies that have been reviewed by some of the
country's leading historians.
Subscriptions are $18 per year for
four issues. To obtain a sample copy, contact Illinois Historic
Preservation Agency, Publications Section, 1 Old State Capitol
Plaza, Springfield, IL 62701; or call (217) 524-6045.
[Illinois
Historic Preservation Agency news release]
|
