McLean County Courthouse and Square /

The McLean County Courthouse and Square is located in downtown Bloomington, Illinois. The site is on the National Register of Historic Places and encompasses the old McLean County Courthouse and the courthouse-facing sides of three downtown blocks. The historic buildings at the other side of the square were destroyed by fire in the 1980s. The Square is bordered by four Bloomington streets: Main Street, Center Street, Jefferson Street and Washington Street. The site was home to three previous courthouses before the current one was built around 1900. The first courthouse at the site was built in 1832, the second in 1836 and the third was built shortly before the present building but was destroyed by fire. The McLean County Courthouse housed the McLean County Circuit Court from 1900 to 1976. The building itself was designed by William Reeves and John M. Baillie of the Peoria firm Reeves and Bailey. The original construction was completed in 1900 at a cost of $461,640. Shortly after its completion, a fire destroyed many of the buildings in the square and the courthouse. The courthouse was rebuilt in 1903 as before following the fire. The rebuild of many buildings in the downtown was