History & Mystery: Wall Art in Downtown Bloomington
(Who are these people, and why are they on the wall?)

Photos and text by Ruth Cobb



As you travel through Downtown Bloomington, you may be surprised to see some faces from the past on the wall at West Monroe and North Main Streets. Abraham Lincoln, Jesse Fell, Judge David Davis, James Allin, Minnie Salzman Stevens, Georgianna Trotter and Rachel Crothers all played significant roles in local history. Their contributions helped shape politics, business, education and the arts in our community. Images of Major Julius Witherspoon, who fought in the Spanish-American War, and the Kickapoo Chief, Machina, are also part of the same mural.

Developer Fred Wollrab appreciates the work of local artists, and is keen on preserving local history and architecture. He commissioned artist Mark Blumenshine to create the portraits on the exterior wall at 104 West Monroe Street and the one of "Billy the Barber" on the back of the building at 625 North Main Street. (visible from Route 51 South and East Locust Street). The artist included a reproduction of a letter signed by Abraham Lincoln that refers to the real estate transaction he handled for that very piece of property for Billy (Lincoln's Springfield barber, Haitian-born William de Fleurville).

The letter reads as follows:

Bloomington, Sept. 27, 1852

C.R. Welles, Esq.
Dear Sir:

I am in a little trouble here-I am trying to get a decree for our "Billy the Barber" for the conveyance of certain town lots sold to him by Allin Gridley and Prickett-I made you a party, as administrator of Prickett, but the Clerk omitted to put your name in the writ, and so you are not served-Billy will blame me, if I do not get the thing fixed up this time-If, therefore you will be so kind as to sign the authority below, and send it to me, by return mail, I shall be greatly obliged, and will be careful that you shall not be involved, or your rights waived by it-

Yours as ever
A. Lincoln

The letter and additional information about William de Fleurville are featured in a booklet published in 1998 by the McLean County Historical Society. The booklet is entitled, "Lincoln in Bloomington-Normal: A Historical Tour of Lincoln Sites in Bloomington and Normal, Illinois," by Donna Reinking.

Dr. Robert Bowen and Harold & Marlene Gregor hired Blumenshine to paint the images of Adlai Stevenson I and Adlai Stevenson II on the building at 105 West Market (visible from North Main Street). Adlai Stevenson I was vice president of the United States, from 1893-1897 with President Grover Cleveland. His grandson, Adlai II, was elected governor of Illinois in 1948, and later ran unsuccessfully in two presidential campaigns. The younger Stevenson also served as United Nations ambassador and was noted for his eloquent speeches and keen analytical mind.

Graduate art student John Hubbell created a stir when he artfully added windows and ivy to the side of the building at 215 East Front Street in 1981. Hubbell attended Illinois State University at the time, and had already painted unusual murals in other communities. The work has faded a bit with time, but still appears very realistic.

Artist John Hubbell included a self-portrait as part of his Front Street work

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