History and
Document Center
Commercial Club
Serving Springfield Community
Since the Early 1900's
ith the coming of the locomotive Cuba to freshly-laid tracks one mile north of the square, a new City of North Springfield (1870 to 1887) emerged. "NewTown" became the exciting regional destination as traffic on her rails drew the tools and trades and settlers to this exciting new community. It wasn't long before leaders joined to form Commercial Club of Springfield in early 1900's to support and guide culture and economic growth throughout the region.
oday's Commercial Club continues to breathe life into Springfield's Main Street of Historic C-Street. Most recent efforts, since 2000, include the organization and growth of our C-Street City Market (2000) and the partnering with Hammons School of Architecture to construct its Market Pavilion, the site today of weekly Thursday & Saturday markets. In 2008, the Club organized a weeklong visit by ArtTrain USA, featuring Art of our nation's Indigenous cultures, breaking all attendance records of the nationally-touring exhibit, visited by every 4th grader in Springfield at our Jefferson Avenue Footbridge.
artnering with the City has resulted in formation of today's Tax Increment Financing and Community Improvement districts, formed in 2008 & 2009 respectively, thanks to the efforts of the Board of Commercial Club. These two efforts provided much-needed resources for promotional and infrastructure improvements which continue to this day. Working with Springfield Public Works Department in 1995 resulted in a successful State Enhancement grant to repaint the Jefferson Avenue Footbridge (JAF) in time for its Centennial Celebration, hosted by Commercial Club of Springfield in 2002. Today, our JAF is well on her way to once again carry neighbors to and from Springfield's most historic neighborhoods. The Club raised $50,000 for this effort and continues to sell memorial pavers to support her upkeep and status as "The Eiffel Tower of Springfield" and this city's largest public art sculpture featuring regular events, lighting and drone shows.
dditional Partnerships with area non-profits include Poetry Walks with the Library, C-Street Walking Tours with the History Museum, Children's Business Fairs with Life 360, Culture Fest through our C-Street City Market which is rapidly becoming the vision & programming partner with our Club. The Market Board has worked with Grupo Lationamericana to house their outreach and classes in our Community Center later this year. We continue to reach out to more groups we host in our district, Currently we are working with the Gay and Lesbian Organization (GLO) and their annual Pridefest Celebration. We pride ourselves in being the most diverse area in Springfield, hosting more black and women-owned businesses than in any part of town.
T
P
A
W
I
M
T
n the earliest days of North Springfield which was a separate city from Springfield proper until annexation in 1887, community and business leaders formed the Commercial Club to share its resources and take a leadership role in projects that improved quality of life in Springfield. Initially, funding and building the partnerships that built the city's first passenger depot at the head of Benton and behind the Ozark Hotel. This group then focused on working with the city to fund and build the Jefferson Avenue Footbridge and, at the same time, the underpasses at Lyon and Washington Avenues, thereby assuring safe, pedestrian and vehicular access over the ever-more-busy rail traffic.
ore area-wide efforts that strengthened the community included successfully raising $40,000 towards a land donation, therby guaranteeing the location of the Frisco Shops and all its jobs here in Springfield in 1907 rather than letting them go to another city. The Club Membership followed up by gap funding to Assemblies of God encouraging them to move here to Springfield rather than St. Louis in 1918. Shortly thereafter, in 1922, the Club purchased land to donate to Central Bible College for its new campus.
here have been many "Firsts" that can be claimed by Commercial Street and its Commercial Club including the fundraising effort that resulted in construction of Springfield's first Community Center in Commercial Club's first wholly-owned Club Headquarters in 1927. Springfield's first library was housed in the basement in 1928. When the club asked its women to form an auxiliary group, what came out of that request was Springfield's first Business and Professional Women's organization (BPW). Commercial Street was home to Springfield's first modern telephone switchboard, first non-volunteer fire department at Fire Station #2. It was the secretary of Commercial Club who stitched Springfield's first flag, making Phoebe Hensley the "Betsy Ross of Springfield" in 1938. It is also largely believed that Commercial Club board members originated today's modern Chamber of Commerce.
ommercial Club of Springfield secured CDBG grants in the 1990's which funded not only the first streetscapes and corner treatments as well as the Footbridge Plaza & Park area which continue to beautify her to this day, In addition, the Club held Frisco Days History Festival from 1984 to 1993 in order to promote the Rail History of our city but also to raise funds for an annual Sculpture Completion which has resulted in its permanent collection. Individual pieces like Dr Tickle and Checkered Future have been added most recently. There is also talk of reviving the C-Street Loftwalks the Club held in the late 1990's to show off our beautifully-restored residential spaces, of which the community was largely unaware.
C
W
T
P
A
Notes and dates briefly outline timeline of several earlier projects
Club Sculpture & Loftwalk & projects with City, (CDBG) State, (ISTEA),
Brief history of the street and Club outlining activities from 1990 to 2002