Bloomington-Normal, Illinois

If you're traveling to Bloomington-Normal for work, there's a good chance you're in Insurance. Bloomington is the home of the corporate headquarters for State Farm Insurance and COUNTRY Financial. Mitsubishi North America also makes its home (and several of its cars) here, and several other manufacturing and financial industries are in the twin cities as well. State Farm is the largest employer, with a historic office building downtown, two campuses, and a recreational park for employees only.

Bloomington-Normal's colleges also bring people to town. Illinois Wesleyan University, a small, private, liberal arts school, is in Bloomington. Illinois State University, a much larger state school, is in Normal. Both campuses are on Main Street, so as the towns have grown towards one another they seem to be almost side by side, with just a hospital between them. The area hosts two other colleges: Heartland, an ever-growing community college, and Lincoln College-Normal, a satellite campus focused on adult learners, but also offering Bachelor's degrees to traditional residential students.

Or maybe you've just come for a visit. Perhaps this is a good place to stop on your drive from Chicago to St. Louis, or from Indianapolis to Des Moines. Whatever brings you to the area, I hope you'll find something you like. And don't worry - no matter what anyone tells you, you don't have to call it "Blo-No."

You won't see the trolley cars or the horses anymore, but otherwise Downtown Bloomington hasn't changed much from this 100-year-old view of Main Street. The Courthouse, on your left, is now the McLean County Museum of History, so you can see the courtrooms' beautiful architecture without fear of going to jail. Most of the downtown buildings now house restaurants and bars on their first floors, but there's a good variety of offerings within a few blocks of the courthouse. You'll also find small, locally-owned boutique businesses. Take time to notice the truly stunning facade of the Ensenberger Building at 212 N Center Street, or the subtler adornment of the State Farm Building.

On the edge of Downtown, the U.S. Cellular Coliseum is home to Bloomington's three professional athletic teams: The Central Illinois Drive (Premier League Basketball), The Bloomington Blaze (Central Hockey League), and the Bloomington Edge (Indoor Football League). The Coliseum also serves as a venue for large concerts and community events.

Just outside of Downtown, the jewel of the city's parks department and the home of the Miller Park Zoo. Miller Park Pond is where hundreds of Polar Plungers gather each winter to jump into freezing water as a fundraiser for Special Olympics. In the summer, Miller Park hosts a much warmer celebration - the 4th of July fireworks and concert.

Further afield, you'll find that Bloomington has all the standard features of a small city. Veteran's Parkway is the main retail area; Eastland Mall and most of the big-box stores will be found here. On the other edge of town, the Interstate Center is serves as the McLean County Fairgrounds, and is also the home of the WFTDA Roller Derby League, the McLean County MissFits. Most places in Bloomington shut down pretty early - you'll be hard pressed to find something that's not a bar that's open after 9:00 - it's a pretty typical Midwestern town, with some neat historical buildings tucked haphazardly in among horrid 1960s/70s development.

In Normal, everything's newer - even the name. In 2007, the town council decided to call their city center "Uptown Normal" instead of downtown, and they promote that brand name aggressively. The entire uptown area has been reconstructed, and as of 2012 work is still going on to re-do the uptown transit hub in preparation for high-speed rail transit between Chicago and St. Louis. Currently, Amtrak trains travel directly through Uptown Normal's center on their regular routes, stopping right in the center of town.

Uptown Normal is best known for two things; its roundabout, and the Normal Theater. The roundabout is a recent attempt to smooth traffic patterns; for the Uptown commercial area is directly adjacent to the Illinois State University campus, making for dense pedestrian and vehicular traffic (and all this with trains running through it, eight times a day). The Normal Theater is a true civic treasure - a restored Art Deco theater, staffed by volunteers, which offers nightly showings of almost-current and classic films. Admission is cheaper than a regular theater, and popcorn is always just $1.00. Uptown Normal also offers several fine restaurants and shops, including the only non-Chicago location of one of President Obama's favorite restaurants, Medici.

Normal, by the way, isn't a value judgment. It's named for the Normal School (teachers' college) - now Illinois State University - that's been there since 1857 (the town didn't take the name until 1867).

Normal's attractions include the Children's Discovery Museum and the Challenger Learning Center at Heartland College. For the athletic-minded, Normal is home to the Redbirds of Illinois State University. The area's fourth professional team, the Normal Cornbelters (Frontier League Baseball), play at the Corn Crib, a park built as a joint project between Heartland College and the City of Normal.

Two cool things you may not know about Normal: The first Steak-n-Shake; EVER; opened here. Also, Illinois State is the home of the Gamma Phi Circus, the oldest college circus in the world.

And check out the New Normal.