Category: News

Friends,

Doughboy went downtown this week to visit the new Pillsbury exhibit at the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library & Museum and support the My Heart’s Downtown initiative. It is always fun to visit the sites and support downtown Springfield.

My Heart’s Downtown is a community-wide initiative celebrating the businesses, people, and places that make downtown Springfield worth loving. Local businesses are showing their heart through extended hours, special experiences, and small moments of delight that invite families and neighbors back downtown. Visit myheartsdowntown.org for more information on the initiative.

Doughboy visited the Kidzeum, the Old State Capitol Plaza, the ALPLM, and a few other locations while enjoying his time downtown. We had a few laughs and photo opportunities with some friends along the way. Everyone had a great time and we plan to be back downtown again soon. You just never know where Doughboy will show up next.

Thanks for being a part of this important community project!

~ Team Pillsbury

Friends,

Moving Pillsbury Forward partnered with the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum these past several months to develop a new exhibit focused on the early years (1929 to 1949) of the Springfield Pillsbury Plant. The exhibit represents an era in local manufacturing that provided hundreds of good jobs during the Great Depression and set the stage for future expansion at the plant in the 1950’s and 60’s. And it highlights the huge ripple effect of economic activity that came to our community with industrial scale flour manufacturing.

The professional staff at the ALPLM utilized a great selection of artifacts and documents to bring the story of those early years to life. Pillsbury not only provided great jobs, but it also developed a workforce culture that engaged civic and recreational activities throughout Springfield. The softball and bowling leagues, the company picnics, and participation in civic organizations were all a part of it.

The exhibit is located just outside of the Ghosts of the Library Halovision Theater within the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Museum. Visitors can view the exhibit at the standard full-museum admission or a special admission rate for just the Pillsbury exhibit. Either way…certainly worth experiencing. The Springfield Pillsbury exhibit is open now and is scheduled to run through the end of May during regular museum hours.

Special thanks to the local families that donated artifacts and documents.

Thanks for being a part of this important community project!

~ Team Pillsbury

Friends,

We had never heard of Dyngus Day until we had a recent interview with a former Springfield Pillsbury employee. He told us that this Polish American holiday was a contractual holiday with the local Springfield grain miller’s union for many years. Dyngus Day celebrates the end of the often-restrictive observance of lent and the joy of Easter. It takes place on the Monday following Easter of each year.

Pillsbury had a major facility in Buffalo, New York where there was a large Polish population. The grain millers in Buffalo had this day placed into their union contract as a holiday and many of the other milling locations did the same…including Springfield! Buffalo still has the largest Dyngus Day celebration in America. This year’s Dyngus Day will be April 6.  

And now we turn to the walnuts story…

It is hard to believe it took this long to hear about the lunch boxes full of walnuts going home with employees during the holiday season. So much so that the front office guy doing inventory could measure the shortage for the months of November and December. Apparently, it was an unstated tradition for workers at the plant to open several 30-pound boxes of walnuts and pack them into their lunch boxes to take home for holiday baking. The front office knew what was going on all along but never put a stop to it…it was the holidays…and not a battle worth fighting.

Yes…we are still having a good time hearing the rich stories from the plant. We also heard about the orange cake mix that was handed out during the holiday season. The main market for this cake mix was the Middle East. Orange cake mix was part of the regular run of mixes at the plant, it just was not generally sold in the United States. So, it was a special treat to be handed out for the holidays.

Time and time again, former employees tell us working at the Pillsbury plant was like having a great big extended family. The bowling league, softball, and picnics all helped make it fun. And that is why it still means so much for the community.

Thanks for being a part of this important community project!

~ Team Pillsbury

Friends,

2025 was another year of great accomplishments for Moving Pillsbury Forward and the Pillsbury Project. This was the year where we turned the site over to contractors for large-scale cleanup and demolition.

Pillsbury Neighborhood alleyways and vacant lots became the new focus for volunteer activities. Volunteers removed trash, bulky items, brush, and limbs from approximately 15 blocks of alleyways and 40 vacant lots. In coordination with the City of Springfield Public Works Department, we were able to advance the general appearance of the neighborhood and increase health and safety throughout the area.

Here are several of our highlights in brief:

• MPF volunteers completed a bulky item neighborhood cleanup in January
• MPF signed cleanup contract with Select Demo in March
• MPF signed a building demolition contract with GreenTrac in March
• MPF held a Public Meeting at Lanphier High School in April
• The Locker Room Building and Warehouse #1 were fully demolished in May
• MPF trained with the new City of Springfield See Click Fix reporting application in June
• The Historic Context Report for the Pillsbury site was finalized in July
• EPA Regional Administrator Anne Vogel visited the Pillsbury site in July
• Two MPF members attended the National Brownfields Conference in August
• MPF gave a project update to City Council in August
• MPF partnered with SIU-Med Students on a cleanup day in August
• Large-scale demolition began when the smokestack was demolished in September
• The Grocery Mix Building was fully demolished in October.
• Governor Pritzker visited the Pillsbury site in October.
• The Turbo Building was demolished in November
• Select Demolition completed all asbestos abatement in November
• The AB-Mill water tower came down in November
• Editing of a soon-to-be-released Pillsbury Photo book was completed in December

Download the 2025 accomplishments as a PDF…

The Pillsbury Project is much more than working through the difficult mechanics of demolishing buildings and moving toward redevelopment. The Pillsbury Project is about people coming together, taking control of a tough situation, and improving the quality of life in Springfield. 

Thank you!  We appreciate everyone being a part of advancing the Pillsbury Project.

~ Team Pillsbury

Friends,

Work continues at the former Pillsbury site. The demolition crew from GreenTrac is working daily despite tough weather. Their plan is to work throughout the winter in all but the most extreme weather conditions. The asbestos cleanup on the silos and Headhouse finished last month. We are still on track for the Spring 2026 completion of demolition of all structures at the site…including the silos!

Work on the tall structures has taken a pause this past week due to necessary repairs on the big crane. The arm was damaged when a large piece of concrete came down at an unanticipated angle. Replacement parts are on order. In the meantime, big machines continue to sort concrete and metal. Demolition of the south silos also continues with an impressive crusher that has an 80’ arm.

The holidays are here. If you are still looking for a special gift for loved ones, we may have just the thing for you. We have a limited supply of “Team Pillsbury” sweatshirts available ($30) and we have a fresh supply of engraved “Pillsbury” bricks ($20) from the original 1929 Warehouse #4. Just this last week one of these bricks was purchased and made its way to California. The Springfield Pillsbury family is far and wide…other bricks are known to have made their way to New York, Florida, and Louisiana.

Thanks for being a part of this important community project.

Happy Holidays!

~ Team Pillsbury

PS call/text Chris at 217-899-2749 for Engraved Bricks and Sweatshirt orders.

Update 11/26/2025 – the water tower has been moved near the front gate, where it can be seen.

Friends,

Another big milestone for the Pillsbury Project was reached today, the AB-Mill water tower came down. Workers cut the legs and dropped it on the roof yesterday. Today it was cabled and rolled over the edge safely. The northeast skyline of Springfield is changing. Certainly, a bittersweet milestone. See MPF Facebook page for video:
https://www.facebook.com/share/r/1AnypeYboL

The AB-Mill water tower had been in place since 1929 when the mill was initially built. It served to provide water and head pressure for the flour milling process and the fire sprinkler system. The top of the tower stood at an elevation of 210 feet above street level. It was an iconic fixture of the Springfield skyline for 96 years.

Moving Pillsbury Forward will try to salvage the top ball from the water tower and keep it as a memorial piece representing the manufacturing history of Pillsbury in Springfield, It came off when the tower hit the roof then hung up on a ladder yesterday. Today it presumably came down with the tower and still needs to be located.

Demolition of the remaining structures at the site will continue for the next several months. All structures (including the Headhouse and Silos) are anticipated to be down by the end of March 2026 (5 months).

The bulk of the debris at the site will be recycled. Metal will leave the site for recycling. Mixed concrete and brick will be crushed and used for basement fill. Additional concrete will be crushed and used for road fill. An estimated 95 percent of the bulk materials from all structures will be recycled. 650 tons of brick from the site have already been stacked and recycled. Many fixtures from the site have also been harvested for re-use.

Thanks for being a part of this important community project!

~ Team Pillsbury

Friends,

Tomorrow, 11/5/2025, promises to be a big day for activities at the site. The last of the silver coating on the Headhouse will be removed. And the Smiley Face atop the 180’ tall Turbo Building is anticipated to come down in the morning.

The environmental cleanup of the structures at the site will be completed this week. Cleanup of remaining asbestos at the site began in March of this year. After more than 8 months of massive efforts, the site is nearly cleared. The manufacturing and warehouse buildings were cleared of all asbestos in July. The removal of the silver coating (with approximately 5% asbestos content) on the silos and Headhouse has been ongoing since March.

Workers are expecting to finish the final area of silver coating on the south wall of the Headhouse tomorrow. Approximately 290,000 square feet of silver coating have been removed, captured, and properly disposed of using approved methods. Air sampling and clearance testing have been performed throughout the process. Thus, safely clearing the way for demolition.

The 10-story Turbo Building with the south facing Smiley Face is anticipated to come down tomorrow. The 200’ crane and 8000-pound wrecking ball will begin swinging at 8:00am and continue throughout the day. The entire building will be pounded down to less than 3-stories by the end of the day. The large track hoes with concrete crunchers and scoops will then finish the job later in the week.

The last 6 weeks of demolition have been productive. The 160’ Smokestack came down in mid-September. The 96,000 sq. ft. 5-story Grocery Building came next. Then, the 24,000 sq. ft. 9-story Bulk Storage building came down.

Thanks for being a part of this important community project!

~ Team Pillsbury