|
 The Illinois
State Fairgrounds are located near the northern edge of Springfield,
and have been a permanent fixture of the Sangamon County landscape
since 1894. Over the years, hundreds of thousands of families from
across the state have visited the Fairgrounds. Historically, an
oft-overlooked element of the visitors’ experience is their
sanitation needs. Initial efforts at meeting these sanitation needs
were simple pit privies, which were later replaced by more elaborate
flush toilet systems. During the early years of the twentieth
century, a series of then modern comfort stations were constructed
at the Fairgrounds for the use of the visitors. These comfort
stations represent a little-discussed building type that has played
a significant role in every visitor’s trip to the Fairgrounds.
Prior to the remodeling of several of these early twentieth century
comfort stations, Fever River Research prepared an Illinois Historic
American Buildings Survey (IL-HABS) documentation package for these
structures. This documentation package included a context on
the late nineteenth and early twentieth century development
of sanitary plumbing adapted to public venues. |
