Historic Glimpses Found While Springfield Buildings Restored

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) — Restoration work on three historic buildings in Springfield has unearthed glimpses of the past.

The (Springfield) State Journal-Register reports that more than a century’s worth of offices and retail businesses have been housed at the Ferguson, Bateman-Kennedy and Booth buildings. Crews working to restore the buildings have found items like typewriter cleaning oil, a metal spittoon and Tuxedo Tobacco tin.

The crews are stripping away layers of plaster and other fixtures to access the original structure’s steel girders.

Developer Rick Lawrence says he’ll likely keep the items and put them on display once the three buildings are completely restored. He estimates that will happen in about two years.

The Ferguson and Booth buildings were built in the early 1900s. The Bateman-Kennedy building dates to the 1800s.

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