Image: Rockford MetroCenter (7820211180)

Description: A postcard air view of downtown Rockford, looking west around 1990. The Rock River flows from north (right) to south. The bridges are at Chestnut Street, State Street, and Jefferson Street, left to right. I was born in Rockford. My family lived here until I was nine, with one brief exception. State Street is the main east-west street in Rockford. When I was young, the department stores were on West State Street, just beyond the river. They included Block & Kuhl, which was probably the largest store, and D. J. Stewart. Now there are no department stores on State Street. The main shopping area has moved to the southeast corner of the city. This photo has three landmarks. The News Tower is on State Street by Rock River. My father worked for the Rockford newspapers, Morning Star and Register-Republic (afternoon), in the News Tower. Hotel Faust is on State Street at the lower right. It was built in 1929, and is still the tallest building in Rockford. It was named after Levin Faust, a Swedish-American businessman who was a major investor. It was owned by the Shriners and called Tebala Towers for a time. Now it is a senior citizens home called Faust Landmark. MetroCentre, the orange building across the Rock River, is a civic center and arena. It was built in 1986. It is now called BMO Harris Bank Center, named for a Chicago bank which is owned by Bank of Montreal. My great-aunt Elsie worked at D. J. Stewart for much of her life, sewing custom-made curtains. She lived a few blocks off the lower right hand corner of the photo, to the right. My brother Loyd and his family have lived in Rockford since 1973. They attend Court Street United Methodist Church, which is just beyond the river between State and Jefferson Streets.
Title: Rockford MetroCenter (7820211180)
Credit: Rockford from Air c.1990 (Postcard)
Author: Roger W from Sarasota, Florida, U.S.A.
Usage Terms: Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0
License: CC BY-SA 2.0
License Link: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0
Attribution Required?: Yes