Danville (pop. 34,000) is the county seat of Vermilion County.  It’s population peaked in 1970 at 42,570.  It was a pretty depressing city to visit, lots of gaps downtown.

 

Some youtube videos worth checking out:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Depressing.

Once there was a city there. It will take a while for the last remnants to disappear under weeds and debris.

 

One of my great-great-grandfathers died in Danville, hit by a train on the way back to Indiana after looking into some farmland in Iowa or Kansas. His wife had died a year or two before, and my great-grandmother, then age 14, and her two younger brothers were orphaned.

 

 

Looking at the type of building stock, you can almost imagine how busy this place once was, especially with a lot more structures in between.  I think the worst thing is not the abandonment, but just how dead and quiet it is. 

I have a friend who worked at the newspaper in Danville 20 or so years ago. He lived in Champaign at the time, so I never visited Danville -- and other than his short tenure at the paper, I've never heard anything about the city. There are some impressive buildings (or, rather, shells), so it must once have had a reason for being.

Yeah, Danville is a sad place. Most of those mid-sized, central Illinois towns are. Nice photos though!

I've been to Danville...definitely pretty depressing. .. . I wonder if you have any shots of the high school. I remember that being one of the most beautiful buildings in the city. ENORMOUS and beautiful... Kind of reminded me of Hughes High School in Cincy.

 

 

Many thanks...this reminds me of your Bay City pics. The old Carnegie library is quite impressive.

 

This looks encouraging...

^That side cladding looks pretty fresh - are we seeing cladding going up or coming off in this picture?

At 432 N. Gilbert (IL 1) north of town there's a Schroeder's Drive-In that used to be a Burger Chef.  It has lots of BC artifacts, and it's a definite step back in time.  Just follow I-74 to Exit 215B and head north.  It's on the left (west) side of the road, just south of the Marathon station.

I'd like to meet the architect face-to-face and asked why they mutilated that building.

 

Sad thing is, these acts still continue in surprising ways.  I drove past a really well designed strip mall built in the 70's with all these interesting concrete geometries.  It was being clad over with fake brick and jumbo cornices.

Danville has certainly gone downhill since most of their industry has left.  Lots of gangs moving in from the Chicago area as well. 

This looks encouraging...

 

I just visited Danville. This cladding is actually going up in the picture. Now complete, the upper levels are completely flat and painted maroon. The first floor is ugly brick that appears as if it were actually installed in the 70's. Completely tragic. Even more unfortunate is that it was done by the county.

 

Accross the street, sits the county courthouse. Unfortunately the context of the building has been completely sacraficed as a large shopping mall and parking lot were erected just across the street.

 

 

 

The city's tallest building appears to literally be falling apart

 

Danville certainly has some challenges