Category: News

On December 23, 2023, the Pillsbury Project and Moving Pillsbury Forward were featured in a story by John O’Connor of the Associated Press. A brief excerpt:

Moving Pillsbury Forward has managed to turn the decrepit site in Illinois’ capital city into a leisure destination verging on cultural phenomenon.

Tours have been highly popular and repeated. Oral histories have emerged. Spray-paint vandals, boosted instead of busted, have become artists in residence for nighttime graffiti exhibitions, which more than 1,000 people attended.

Retired University of Illinois archeologist Robert Mazrim has mined artifacts and assembled an “Echoes of Pillsbury” museum beneath a leaking loading dock roof. This month, the plant’s towering headhouse is ablaze with holiday lights.

John O’Connor of the Associated Press

Read the full story at https://apnews.com/article/pillsbury-mills-springfield-cleanup-brownfields-asbestos-graffiti-4163e35e84c507adfcee97cd44a41431

Friends,

I recently did a Community Voices interview with Vanessa Ferguson. She did a great job with the interview. The 16-minute piece answers many of the questions that Team Pillsbury is asked during our events and community interactions. Please, consider taking a few minutes to listen and perhaps share the Pillsbury Project story. This is truly a community effort worth celebrating!

Click to listen:
https://www.nprillinois.org/arts-life/2023-12-15/moving-pillsbury-forward-provides-healing-for-community-with-stories-artifacts-and-art-exhibits

Chris Richmond

President, Moving Pillsbury Forward

pillsburyproject.org

Friends,

Public tours at Pillsbury have come to an end for this season.  Turnout for our final two tours last Saturday was nearly 400.  Team Pillsbury will work to bring back public tours in the Spring (March/April) as weather and contractor scheduling allows.  We deeply appreciate everyone’s interest and enthusiasm for the project!

Over the winter we will continue working toward full regulatory approval to move forward with abatement and demolition activities.  The site is complex, and so are the elements for approval.  Sound studies of the I&M railyard to the east have proved to be a challenging element.  We need those to know how or if the neighborhood will be negatively impacted when the buildings are removed.  If so, a mitigation plan will need to be written.  Unfortunately, it all takes time to get it right.  And, getting it as right as we can get it is what we are all about.  We ask for your patience as we work through this process.

We have been asked via social media and through other channels why we are taking the time and effort to engage the community with historic tours and art.  Well, the short answer is that we have the time while we wait for full approval to move ahead.  The longer answer is perhaps more satisfying and meaningful.  During our on-site tours and events we have a printed spreadsheet that represents over 1100 people that worked at the Springfield Pillsbury Plant over the years.  The spreadsheet is compiled primarily from union seniority lists that the project has gathered from worker families.  We have a “notes” area next to each name for visitors to write in comments.  The recent note written next to a worker’s name who started at the plant in 1937 says everything that needs to be said: “Hi Grandpa, we are visiting your workplace of 42 yrs.”

Thanks to everyone who has helped make this community project possible…we are a long way down the road to getting the Pillsbury Project as right as we can.

~ Team Pillsbury

Friends,

Moving Pillsbury Forward is having one last day of tours for this season.  We have had many requests for the daylight historic site tours.  Team Pillsbury volunteers have worked hard to get the grounds ready.  Tours are FREE and open to the public.   

When: Saturday, December 2nd.  First tour starts at Noon.  Second tour starts at 2:00pm.

Our Echoes of Pillsbury exhibit will be open from 11:00am to 3:00pm.  It is a well curated exhibit of history and artifacts from the Springfield Pillsbury Plant.  Note: The new C-Mill Art Gallery will also be a part of the guided tour.  

As in October, these site tours will be walking tours of the ground floor area of several of our remaining buildings.  The guided history tours will last for approximately 45 minutes and cover about a half mile of walking distance.  These tours are designed to be accessible for everyone.  Sturdy shoes are recommended due to uneven concrete surfaces.  Bundle up with a warm coat and bring your camera!

Where:  1525 Phillips Ave.  There is plenty of parking available near the south dock entrance at the corner of 16^th and Phillips Ave.

Bricks from our recently demolished 1929 Warehouse #4 will be available.  Donations will be accepted.

Thanks for being a part of this important community project. 

~ Team Pillsbury

Friends,

Some things in life are easily measurable.  Things like the number of people in attendance (1023), the number of generators (3), the length of extension cords (3000′), the number of lights (>200), square footage of total event space (75,000), etc.

Other things in life are a bit more difficult to quantify.  Things like joy…art…inspiration…beauty…historic reverence…and the great taste of Jamaican jerked chicken.  These are elements of the human experience that are truly more meaningful than numbers.  All of these are elements experienced as a part of the Visitor Art Exhibition last night at the former Pillsbury Mills site.  The event was a feast for the senses and truly one that will be remembered for years to come. 

Special thanks goes to our resident artists (Shock and Static), Robert Mazrim (Curator/Artistic Coordinator/Artist), and our dedicated team of volunteers.  We could not have asked for a better production team.  

Finally, thanks to all who attended and donated last night.  Your generosity is very much appreciated!

Chris / Polly / Tony / Team Pillsbury

pillsburyproject.org

PS Guided ground-level historic building tours are scheduled for Dec. 2nd at noon and 2:00pm weather permitting.  Have a great Thanksgiving!

Friends,

Moving Pillsbury Forward is pleased to announce a second date for our “Visitors” at the Pillsbury Mill Site. Saturday (Nov. 18th) from 5:30 to 8:00pm. Our artists and volunteer team have had many requests for another opportunity to bring friends and family. This one will certainly be the last of the season…so please, mark your calendar, bring your camera, flashlight, heavy shoes or boots, and warm clothing.  Admission is free.  Entrance is at the south dock at the corner of 16th St. and Phillips Ave.

The project, facilitated and sponsored by Moving Pillsbury Forward, focuses on the work of Minneapolis artists Shock and Static, who were encountered exploring the site at night in September. Moving Pillsbury Forward staff were familiar with their work (made during previous visits), and instead of ushering the artists off the property, they were invited to return to create new work under more ideal conditions. The result is a massive site-specific work, expressed in spray paint and found objects and exploring themes pertinent to the rise and fall of the Pillsbury factory and surrounding community during the 20th century. The installation also includes the work of other graffiti artists and local sculptors.

The project is not only a first for Springfield, but a unique one in the Midwest, representing rare cooperation between landowners, brownfield clean-up objectives, and “street artists”. Curator Robert Mazrim has for the last six months focused on the “aesthetic salvage and recycling” of the artistic potential of the ruined factory, before its scheduled demolition in the coming 18 months.

Access to the installation will be limited. Visitors will be invited to explore the space, illuminated by improvised lighting, between 5:30 and 8:00 PM. The building has no heat, and due to the conditions of the site, heavy duty footwear and other appropriate clothing is recommended.

“Visitors” provides yet another unique opportunity to explore and reconsider the remains of an important piece of Springfield history, and this time, to get a close-up view of an art form that is often fleeting and inaccessible to most residents of the community.  

Chris / Polly / Tony

View photos from the November 9 event here…

PS  We have also had requests for more guided historical tours.  Weather permitting, those are now scheduled for Saturday, Dec. 2 at Noon and 2:00 pm.