Our Past, July 20, 2012
This crowd of Altonians, young and old, was intent on the entertainment at a centennial event. Some found seats on freight wagons near the old Alton Train Depot. It was estimated that as many as 8,000...
View ArticleOur Past, July 21, 2012
Alton's huge centennial parade moved from West Third Street to Piasa, then to Broadway, to entertain the spectators. According to Telegraph reports, the weather was ideal. Festival chairmen estimated...
View ArticleOur Past, July 22, 2012
This view of Lincoln-Douglas Square, dedicated to parking, was photographed from a vantage point on the flourmill sometime in the mid-1940s. The site of the famous 1858 debate between Abraham Lincoln...
View ArticleOur Past, July 23, 2012
A white sand beach once was a big attraction on the Illinois River at Kampsville in the early years of the 20th century. It was Bartholomew Beach, and visitors were charged 10 cents to swim. About 30...
View ArticleOur Past, July 24, 2012
An observation car was one of the luxuries on the Gulf, Mobile, & Ohio Railroad's crack Abraham Lincoln and Ann Rutledge passenger service. Coach and parlor cars, Pullman coaches and beautifully...
View ArticleOur Past, July 25, 2012
In June 1938, workers connected the new Piasa trunk sewer to the old stone arch section at 16th and Piasa streets in Alton. In the works for most of a year, lines from all parts of the Middletown area...
View ArticleOur Past, July 26, 2012
The five-deck excursion steamer "St. Paul" was a popular form of entertainment for Altonians. The St. Paul originally was operated by a railroad company for the Alton and St. Louis trade. It was the...
View ArticleOur Past, July 27, 2012
The Upper Alton business district was home to an assortment of restaurants over the years, as it is today. Here, workers at the London Cafe stand outside the business in 1926. They were, from left,...
View ArticleOur Past, July 28, 2012
The city of Gillespie celebrates its history during Black Diamond Days. Their high school sports teams are the Miners. Local men working in the mines considered a lump of coal to be like a black...
View ArticleOur Past, July 29, 2012
Swimming of a different stripe was featured on this charming Alton vintage postcard dated 1907. The shell opened up to show photos of Alton landmarks. The postage fee was 1 cent - to mail a card out of...
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