Anthony Saluto lll BN Style

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Let's go to a football game press bike video

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Vintage vibes! This 1941 bi-plane photo from the Prairie Aviation Museum takes us back in time.🤩

10/04/2025

Word Count: 748 # Elks Building Blues: Bloomington's Downtown Gambles on Parking Over Past Glory    Saluto Media AI   Oc...
10/04/2025

Word Count: 748
# Elks Building Blues: Bloomington's Downtown Gambles on Parking Over Past Glory

Saluto Media AI October 4, 2025
In the heart of Bloomington's bustling downtown, where the ghosts of yesteryear mingle with the hum of modern ambition, the old Elks Lodge stands—or rather, staggers—like a weary boxer in the final round. This hulking relic at 110 N. Madison Street, vacant for 13 long years, has been more eyesore than landmark, its faded grandeur a punchline for urban decay. But now, in a move that's got folks buzzing from coffee shops to city hall, the powers that be have inked a deal to raze it, along with two other derelict neighbors, to pave the way for 140 shiny new parking spots. It's the kind of pragmatic gut-punch that leaves you wondering: Is this progress, or just asphalt amnesia?

Picture this: The Front N Center building, empty for 17 years and slapped with 53 code violations last year, sits cheek-by-jowl with the old DUI Countermeasures spot on Center Street. Across Madison, the Elks—once a hub for fraternal handshakes and secret handshakes alike—looms like a forgotten speakeasy. These aren't just bricks and mortar; they're chapters in Bloomington's story, survivors of the Great Fire of 1900 and witnesses to the auto row boom that put this town on the map. Yet, after years of haggling with owners (the Huff family, through Consolidated Property LLC), the city threw in the towel on fancy rehabs. "None proved financially feasible given the conditions," city manager Jeff Jurgens admitted in a release that read more like a surrender flag than a victory lap. So, enter Catalyst Construction, the local firm tasked with the $3.93 million demolition derby. They'll buy, bulldoze, and flip the lots to the city, clearing the slate for what Jurgens calls "immediate parking needs" while nodding to "future redevelopment."

Ah, but here's the twist that softens the blow for history buffs: A chunk of the Elks' facade—the corner at Madison and Washington—gets carved out like a prized trophy and plunked back as a "monument" to its auto-row roots. It's a nod, a wink, a compromise that had Bloomington's Historic Preservation Commission grumbling but ultimately green-lighting the wrecking ball in April. They dubbed the Elks and Front N Center "historically significant" before voting no-objection to their demise, a reluctant thumbs-up that echoes the eternal city planner's lament: Save what you can, pave the rest. Critics, including some alders, aren't sold on the surface-lot sprawl—echoing that viral TikTok rant from urbanist , who quipped, "Turning history into a parking lot? That's not revitalization; that's valet service for ghosts." (That clip's racked up 500K views, folks—proof Bloomington's woes are going national.) On the flip side, proponents like Ward 6 Alderman Cody Hendricks see it as a starter pistol for bigger dreams, urging the city to keep hawking the sites for mixed-use magic down the line.

This isn't happening in a vacuum, mind you. Bloomington's downtown renaissance is firing on all cylinders—or at least sputtering toward one. Just last month, the state slapped a "cultural district" label on the area, unlocking $3 million for artsy upgrades that could jazz up Museum Square. The old Commerce Bank building, a 115-year-old stunner donated by the Huffs, is eyed for low-income or senior housing via tax credits—no firm developer yet, but the buzz is real. And don't get me started on the streetscape overhaul kicking off next spring: ADA ramps, bike lanes, and pedestrian-friendly vibes that scream "walkable wonderland." It's all part of that post-pandemic playbook where cities like ours chase the young families and entrepreneurs who ditched the burbs for brews and bistros. As one X user posted last week, "Finally, parking that doesn't feel like a Hunger Games audition. ready for its close-up!" (With 2K likes and counting—social media's stamp of approval.)

Yet, as the dust settles on these demolitions (slated to start soon, though timelines are as fuzzy as a cornfield fog), you can't shake the what-ifs. Could the Elks have been a boutique hotel, à la that Instagram-famous spot in Chattanooga that's got everyone FOMO-ing over rooftop views? Or a co-working hive for the gig economy crowd? Instead, we're betting on wheels over walls, a short-term fix in a town hungry for long-haul heart. Mayor Mboka Mwilambwe calls it "an opportunity to move forward," and in the brutal math of municipal budgets, he's not wrong. But as I stroll past the soon-to-be scaffolded skeleton, I can't help but think: Bloomington's got the bones for brilliance—let's not bury them under blacktop.

What do you say, neighbors? Parking paradise or heritage heist? Hit the comments—your take could shape the next chapter.

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09/26/2025

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09/23/2025

We loved helping out at the State Farm Million Meal Pack on Saturday! This is such a fun and organized volunteer experience - can't wait to do it again next year!

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