Category Archives: Street

Marion City Street Department

1960, Marion Public Square Bypassed by New Route 13

Posted on by January 6, 2014

On Friday, October 28th, 1960, the Marion Public Square was bypassed by new Illinois Route 13. For the first time, east and west bound traffic on Route 13 no longer had to pass through the middle of town and around the square with the completion of DeYoung from N. Fair Street on the east side of Marion.

Traffic at this time still had to enter and exit Marion from the east on old 13, but got jogged by way of N. Fair which had to have three blocks from Boulevard to DeYoung converted from the old tar and chip city street to a paved surface as is explained in the following article.   Continue reading →

1923, Rt 13 to Carbondale Becomes a Hard Road

Posted on by December 23, 2013

Old Route 13 in 1923The road leading to Carbondale from Marion that we now know as new Route 13 is a far cry from what or where it was in the early days when it was no more than a trail. Before Crab Orchard Lake was constructed around 1939, and a section of Route 13 was re-located around it, there was old Route 13, a narrow road extending out West Main Street in Marion and running almost straight, dead west to Carbondale, joining East Walnut in Carbondale, about a half mile south of where new Route 13 now intersects Giant City Road. Continue reading →

1966 Industrial Park Development

Posted on by January 14, 2014

1966 Industrial Park development areaThe following Glances at Life article written by Homer Butler in 1974 summarizes the beginnings of the city’s first industrial park development west of North Carbon in 1966, which made further development of the city’s west side beyond the Interstate possible.

From a vantage point on Interstate Route 57 where it traverses Marion, one can look east and west, and view a wide area of development that has taken place during the last eight years. Continue reading →