Flick Fact: U of I, just east of downtown Bloomington? Don't laugh.
Question: Franklin Park, a few blocks east of downtown, is one of Bloomington's most beautiful parks, a fact Twin Citians are fully aware. But perhaps lesser known, if a proposal facing the state Legislature back in the 1860s had not failed, what would be there instead?
Answer: Believe it or not - the University of Illinois. After seeing the founding of Illinois State Normal University in Normal in 1857, founder Jesse Fell sought to make this area the higher education center of Illinois and made a bid to locate U of I in neighboring Bloomington, near where Franklin Park is today. But state politics won out and Urbana won the bid with the University of Illinois opening there in 1867. Few realize ISU is actually 10 years older than U of I and what led to U of I.
------------
Copyright 2026 Tribune Content Agency. All Rights Reserved.
This story was originally published July 2, 2026 at 6:34 AM.