Southern Covers West End's Growth

There once was a time when Marion's west end was the creek that flows around what's now the intersection of West Main and Court Streets. Now it's the area of The Hill and points west of Interstate 57.

The Southern Illinoisan highlighted the recent growth in this corridor in a John D. Homan article in yesterday's paper.

Marion's Mayor Bob Butler remains astonished at the development of The Hill.

"I never dreamed there would be any growth there at all," said Butler, who likened the area to a devastated wilderness for decades. "It was strip pits and spoil banks. The area looked like it had been bombed. Now look at it. Practically every day, retail-type establishments are contacting us and asking us about building there."

Butler said the credit rests squarely on the shoulders of land developers Doug Bradley, Lynn Holmes and G.A. White, who invested their money and effort into that location.