3D ultrasound Normal

Normal, Illinois

Normal, IL, is a town in McLean County in Illinois. Normal, IL, had a population of 45,386 as of the now-outdated 2000 census and has risen to 50,519 by 2005. Normal, IL, is one of the "Twin Cities" that make up the Bloomington-Normal metropolitan area, and Normal is the smaller of the two cities both in area and in population. Originally, Normal was known as North Bloomington. The town was given the name of Normal in 1865, and officially incorporated in 1867. The name was taken from Illinois State Normal University, which was a "normal school", a school designed to teach high-school graduates to become teachers and set norms for education. The school has since been renamed Illinois State University, or ISU, after becoming a general four-year university. Normal is adjacent to Bloomington, Illinois, and when mentioned together, they are known as the "Twin Cities," "Bloomington-Normal", or simply as
"B-N." The mayor of Normal is Chris Koos.

The town of Normal was laid out as North Bloomington on June 7, 1854 by Joseph Parkinson. From its founding, it was generally recognized that Jesse W. Fell was the force behind the creation of the town. Fell had arranged for the new railroad, which would soon become the Gulf Mobile and Ohio, to pass west of Bloomington and then curve to cross the Illinois Central Railroad at a point where he owned or controlled land. Most of the original town of Normal lay south of the tracks, with Beaufort Street as its northern limit, and some blocks west of the Illinois Central and north of the tracks. Fell, his brothers, and associates quickly laid out many additions to the Original Town. Jesse Fell also founded Illinois State University, located in Normal, IL.

Normal has a rich history of businesses and companies which have employed the people of Normal. It's little wonder how this small town grew to be so successful, with the variety of businesses that have once made its home in this area, including 20 cigar manufacturing plants, a caramel factory, 150 other candy factories, an overall factory, four woodworking businesses, six brick yards, a brewery, a pork-packing company, two flour mills, two feed mills, a canning factory, and coal mines. A large percentage of residents of Normal are currently employed by Illinois State University, State Farm Insurance (corporate headquarters in Bloomington, IL), Country Financial (corporate headquarters in Bloomington), Unit 5 schools, and the Mitsubishi Motors North America manufacturing facility. In 1988, the Town of Normal, in cooperation with the State of Illinois, became home to Diamond Star Motors, now called Mitsubishi Motors North America. The manufacturing plant, which is located in the enterprise zone on the northwest side of Normal, manufactures several models of Mitsubishi cars: the Eclipse, Eclipse Spyder, Endeavor, and Galant.

In 1934, Gus and Edith Belt attached a dining room to the side of their Shell gas station and began to sell burgers and shakes. Gus’s little wonderful idea was to use choice cuts of beef to make ground hamburger, thus making "Steakburgers." Their restaurant is known today as Steak ‘n Shake.

Illinois State University, or ISU, is a four-year accredited university located in Normal, IL. Illinois State University, founded in 1857, is the oldest public university in Illinois. The school was founded by Jesse W. Fell, who had his friend, Abraham Lincoln, draw up the legal documents to establish the university. The original name of the school was Illinois State Normal University, reflective of its primary mission as a teacher training institution (at that time called a normal school). In 1964, as the institution began expanding and moving toward a full liberal arts curriculum, its name was changed, first to Illinois State University at Normal, and then by 1968 to Illinois State University. The town of Normal, originally named North Bloomington, took its name from the school. Illinois State University is also home to one of the world's tallest residence halls, Watterson Towers. Standing just shy of 300 feet, its massive capacity allows it to house over 2,200 students. The building, which consists of a pair of towers, was completed in 1967.

Now the little ones of Normal, IL, can satisfy their imaginations and wonders. The Children's Discovery Museum in uptown Normal provides hands-on exhibits, classes and programs for children. The museum has three floors of exhibits including a two-story mesh climber for children to climb to the third floor and a 2,000-square-foot agriculture exhibit called AgMazing. The museum also offers education programs and houses the Discover More! Store. The Children's Discovery Museum was originally called the "McLean County Children’s Discovery Museum" and opened its doors in 1994. The museum then relocated to Bloomington, IL, in 1995 in order to accommodate increased traffic and party requests. In recognition of the fact that visitors to the museum came from all over central Illinois, and not just from McLean County, the museum changed its name to the Children’s Discovery Museum of Central Illinois in 1997. When the museum sought to expand once more, it worked closely with the town of Normal, IL and moved to Normal and opened in Normal, IL, in 2004.

The Way to Normal is a 2008 studio album from Ben Folds. It was released on 30 September 2008 in the United States and on 29 September 2008 in the United Kingdom. The album is Folds' highest-charting debut ever in the US, reaching #11 on the Billboard 200 in its first week of release. The album (and the song of the same name) is named after Normal, Illinois. The song from that album, "Way to Normal" can be heard here on YouTube.