A birthday party for the 150-year-old Commercial Street will mark the arrival of that first steam engine, the Cuba, on newly laid tracks on April 21,1870. Followed rapidly by construction of Springfield’s first passenger depot and the Ozark Hotel, both at Benton, the city of North Springfield thrived from 1870 until1887 with Commercial Street as its downtown. North Springfield merged with Springfield in 1887.
A mayoral proclamation will kick off the birthday party festivities. Period costumes are encouraged and historic readings, antique bicycles, music, dance, food, kids activities and a ceremonial groundbreaking of the Jefferson Avenue Footbridge renovation will be followed by the installation of a memorial paver in honor of Springfield’s City Council. For more details and updates as they evolve: historicCstreet.com and Historic C-Street on Facebook.