The McLean County Courthouse and Square is located in downtown Bloomington, Illinois. The site is on the National Register of Historic Places and encompasses the old McLean County Courthouse and the courthouse-facing sides of three downtown blocks. All 4 floors of the building are now occupied by the McLean County Museum of History for exhibits, collections storage, and offices. The historic buildings at the other side of the square were destroyed by fire in the 1980s. The Square is bordered by four Bloomington streets: Main Street, Center Street, Jefferson Street and Washington Street. The site was home to three previous courthouses before the current one was completed in 1903. The first courthouse at the site was built in 1831, and the second in 1836. The third was built in 1868, but suffered major damage from fire on June 19, 1900.
History
Courthouse
The McLean County Courthouse housed the McLean County Circuit Court from 1903 to 1976. The original construction was completed in 1868 at a cost of $461,640. On June 19, 1900, a fire destroyed many of the buildings in the square and the courthouse. The courthouse was rebuilt in 1903 in a similar style following the fire. It was designed by William Reeves and John M. Baile of the Peoria firm Reeves and Baile. The rebuild of many buildings in the downtown was executed through the designs of several local architects, George Miller, Paul Moratz and A.L. Pillsbury.
In 1988, the McLean County Historical Society moved to put its museum in the Old Courthouse. Today the museum operates out of the courthouse building as it has since 1991. Until 1991, general county offices were still housed in the courthouse though the courts had moved to new facilities a few blocks away. In 2002 McLean County approved $1.2 million for renovation following a historic structures report. Other funding came through a Public Museum Capital Grant from the Illinois State Museum, a division of the Illinois Department of Natural Resources. The project included restoration of the 100-year-old courthouse dome. Original copper was salvaged and reused and the clock restored to working order. On December 24, 2004, the tower bell was rung for the first time in nearly fifty years. The dome was restored from its oxidized copper green to the original copper color.
On October 15, 2006, the Landmark Preservations Council of Illinois presented the "Outstanding Restoration" award to the McLean County Museum of History for its efforts to restore the dome of the old courthouse.
Square
The historic sides of the square are on the west, south and north sides of the courthouse, respectively. The east side of the public square was destroyed in a 1985 fire and today a contemporary office building occupies the area. The remaining historic sides are littered with historic commercial buildings which originate from the 1850s to the 1920s. The Corn Belt Bank Building at 101 W. Jefferson St. was completed in 1903, and was designed by George Miller who also designed the nearby Livingston Building, 102–104 W. Washington St.
Buildings on the Courthouse Square
Benjamin & Shermerhorn Building: 210 N. Center St., completed 1857. Corn Belt Bank Building: 101 W Jefferson St., completed 1903. Dewenters Building (Crothers & Crew Building): 118 W. Washington St., completed c. 1856. Ensenberger Building: 212 N. Center St., completed 1926. Livingston Building: 102–104 W. Washington St., completed 1903. People's Bank Building: Phoenix Block (Kersey H. Fell Building): 106–108 W Washington St., buildings completed c. 1856.