Talk:Bloomington, Illinois

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[edit] Division Street

I remeoved the little section in geography that had to do with Division Street. I see no point in that being in the article. Division Street is a very short street and is not a true 'division' of the two cities. As with the rest said about Division Street being symbolic -- that's POV. I am open to any suggestions or comments.

Here is what I removed: Division Street, as the name suggests, forms a part of the border between Bloomington and Normal, with Bloomington to the south and Normal to the north. It is symbolic as well as literal, in that the two cities have sometimes disagreed about the best way to govern.

Kkemper 01:34, 8 July 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Larger (population wise)?

Ture larger population size but also true in area, I believe... Bloomington - 22.5 sq. mi. Normal - 13.7 sq. mi. Kkemper 06:39, 15 May 2007 (UTC)

Bloomington is slowly encircling Normal, like a gigantic amoeba. Wahkeenah 09:21, 15 May 2007 (UTC)
It is? What about north Normal? IvoShandor 09:26, 15 May 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Jason Alexander

I removed this "famous person". He's from Jersey. I can't find any bio that mentions him living in Bloomington. Add him back if it can be proven.

    • It's either a joke, or the wrong Jason Alexander. A quick survey of Google turns up many references to "Jason Alexander", some from Illinois. But his IMDB bio [1] makes it clear that the TV actor Jason Alexander's formative years were spent entirely in the northeast. Wahkeenah 00:59, 27 January 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Lucas Como

Removed this "notable person". Maybe someday.

  • Lucas Como, Best Appearance winner at Adepticon '05s Team Tournament and US Director of Paintedfigs.com

[edit] Twin Town?

It is adjacent to Normal, Illinois, and when mentioned together they are known as ... "Twin Town". Really? Seriously? User:BlongerBros 19:08, 8 April 2006 (UTC)

  • I never heard it called that before, but somebody thinks they have. Wahkeenah 21:27, 8 April 2006 (UTC)
I've lived in this area all my life. Many locals refer to the area as just Bloomington, and Normal is simply deprecated into Bloomington. People on local news and radio habitually call it "The Twin Cities", which is an appropriate name for the towns because they're so close together it's very hard to tell when you're leaving one and entering another unless you look for population signs, which are only at maybe a dozen different locations and don't cover all of the roads connecting the two towns. Jtrost (T | C | #) 01:12, 6 June 2006 (UTC)
Twin Cities, yes, but I don't recall ever hearing it called Twin Town. And it's true the borders are not always that obvious, other than the aptly-named Division Street. Wahkeenah 01:43, 6 June 2006 (UTC)
  • If no one objects I'm going to remove the "Twin Town" reference from the Bloomington and Normal articles. --Donutey 23:03, 6 June 2006 (UTC)
    • Gofer it. Wahkeenah 23:46, 6 June 2006 (UTC)
  • "Twin Town" was popularized by the Bloomington radio station 96.7 I-Rock. It is a fairly popular nickname among Bloomington/Normal youth. This becomes apparent in browsing the I-Rock forums. --199.8.34.75 18:49, 10 October 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Special census

Why was the update that included the special census reverted? Here is a source: http://www.pantagraph.com/articles/2006/06/16/news/doc449338a9f298f188018042.txt BlongerBros 17:37, 23 June 2006 (UTC)

My bad. I didn't catch the citation since it was not properly cited. Jtrost (T | C | #) 18:16, 23 June 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Lucca

"One of John F. Kennedy's favorite pizza parlors was Lucca's Grill located in Downtown Bloomington." Really? I mean, how many times could he have eaten there? Xuehxolotl 16:48, 11 December 2006 (UTC)

  • Once, I think. Somebody's exaggerating. Check the newspapers posted in the place, if they are still there. I know the founders, the Baldini brothers, were major JFK supporters. Wahkeenah 19:00, 11 December 2006 (UTC)
Could that reference be removed?Jenigmat429 19:16, 28 March 2007 (UTC)
Should be, take it out, or I will when I get a chance. IvoShandor 09:47, 29 March 2007 (UTC)
I changed it so that it simply references his visit there. -- Tim D 04:42, 30 March 2007 (UTC)
Works for me. : ) IvoShandor 06:12, 30 March 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Fair use rationale for Image:Bloomingtonillinoislogo.gif

Image:Bloomingtonillinoislogo.gif is being used on this article. I notice the image page specifies that the image is being used under fair use but there is no explanation or rationale as to why its use in this Wikipedia article constitutes fair use. In addition to the boilerplate fair use template, you must also write out on the image description page a specific explanation or rationale for why using this image in each article is consistent with fair use.

Please go to the image description page and edit it to include a fair use rationale. Using one of the templates at Wikipedia:Fair use rationale guideline is an easy way to insure that your image is in compliance with Wikipedia policy, but remember that you must complete the template. Do not simply insert a blank template on an image page.

If there is other fair use media, consider checking that you have specified the fair use rationale on the other images used on this page. Note that any fair use images lacking such an explanation can be deleted one week after being tagged, as described on criteria for speedy deletion. If you have any questions please ask them at the Media copyright questions page. Thank you.

BetacommandBot (talk) 04:26, 12 February 2008 (UTC)


[edit] Attractions

I am working with the Bloomington-Normal Area Convention & Visitor's Bureau to make the Wikipedia page more user-friendly for those wishing to plan a visit to the area. I have added the attractions section and I have made some additions to the transportation and education sections.

All of my citations are to the Bloomington-Normal Convention & Visitor's Bureau Area Visitor's Guide with direct approval from the author, himself. None of the material I am posting is in violation of copyrights.

If you are concerned about anything I have posted please feel free to let me know. Bloomington-Normal Area Visitors & Convention Bureau (talk) 22:50, 12 February 2008 (UTC)

I think a lot of the material is dagerouly close to violating WP:NOT#TRAVEL, WP:NOT#OPINION, and WP:NPOV. As it's written now it sounds like a vistor's guide, not an encyclopedia article. I think there's some great information there, but it needs to be presented in a more factual, neutral way. Phrases like "devoted to teaching", "remarkable growth", and "bringing smiles and instant recognition in all 50 states ..." are but a tiny few examples of the unsupported advocacy-like statements. HDow (talk) 03:19, 13 February 2008 (UTC)

Per your request, I toned down the articles and presented the material in a neutral way. Bloomington-Normal Area Visitors & Convention Bureau (talk) 20:31, 14 February 2008 (UTC)

Thanks HDow (talk) 09:14, 15 February 2008 (UTC)
It still reads rather like a visitor's guide. Do we have sources other than a visitors' guide (i.e. whatever sources the visitors' guide uses) available? Belgarion89 (talk) 16:16, 13 March 2008 (UTC)
Bloomington Normal is a great place to raise a family. It's a safe place with a low cost of living, low traffic, clean air, and plenty of well paying jobs. So don't take this as a putdown. But please tell me why would anyone want to "visit" Bloomington-Normal? I lived there for 3 years, and I know from experience that there is literally NOTHING to do there, and for a place with 4 higher learning institutions that I'm aware of, that is a disgrace. The few things to do there almost serve to prove my point. Visit Adali Stevenson's Grave?? Don't make me laugh! White Oak Park is boring, the downtown area is boring, the place is just a flat, boring place to be and there is, again, NOTHING to do. If Satan is making you take a vacation in Central Illinois or something, you should at least visit nearby Peoria. Peoria at least has the little downtown area by the river and a few things to do. Not many, but at least a few. Unlike Bloomington. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 12.14.57.35 (talk) 14:05, 18 April 2008 (UTC)
The National Register of Historic Places is a good place to start for places that are notable attractions, Bloomington is home to one National Historic Landmark, and a bunch of sites on the Register. Bloomington has some arena football and hockey I think, several theaters, one new one that is huge, as well as an architecturally distinct downtown commercial district (also a National Register site). I believe both university's offer significant theater productions (ISU more so, in Normal). There are also at least four Abe Lincoln sites in the city, so the history is rich: a couple governors and a vice president hailed from Bloomington. That kind of stuff is easily verifiable via the Intertoobs. As for nothing to do, look around you, instead of ignoring the obvious as so many do these days. :)

[edit] Education

I must object to the inclusion of schools located in Normal listed in the Bloomington article. There is a B-N article which is currently just a stub. Perhaps this would be a good place to talk about how the cities are interrelated. Belgarion89 (talk) 16:21, 13 March 2008 (UTC)

I believe any discussion of Bloomington or Normal without including the other town is flawed. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 216.43.57.202 (talk) 21:19, 2 April 2008 (UTC)

  • I didn't say to preclude Normal completely from the article. However, currently the article reads like many places located in Normal are part of Bloomington. Also I don't think a detailed, bulleted description of each college is needed. However, since plenty of students at Unit 5 schools are residents of Bloomington, it would be appropriate to include them. Belgarion89 (talk) 20:24, 3 April 2008 (UTC)