walking next to you...

so, roxana really is an interesting name. tonight i decided to type my name into the google search and here is what i found: there is a village called roxana in illinois!!! this place was named after a queen from the netherlands which is amazing because the netherlands is my favorite place in the world. i always knew there was something special about illinois...i mean, it has always just had this special place in my heart...now it makes plenty of sense:) when typing roxana into the search the first thing that showed up was: roxana school district and roxana high school....ahahaha:) so i wikipediad this thing and here is what i learned:

Roxana is a village in Madison County, Illinois, United States. The population was 1,547 at the 2000 census. A majority of the land in Roxana is taken up by the Wood River Conoco-Phillips oil refinery; the refinery was built and originally owned by Shell Oil and has also been owned by Premcor. As of December 2005, the Refinery refines 306,000 barrels of oil per day to produce gasoline, jet fuel, diesel, asphalt, propane and other products, and supplies part of the St. Louis region, Chicago, Indiana and Ohio.

Roxana is considered to be part of the Riverbend or Metro East area, including Alton, East Alton, Godfrey, Rosewood Heights, Bethalto, Wood River, Hartford and South Roxana. Roxana is known for its smell, being located in the midst of four oil refineries. It is also well-known for its bright Christmas lights, lining Illinois Route 111, its main street, throughout the holiday season each year. The zip code for Roxana is 62084.

In 1918, the Shell Oil Company opened its Wood River Refinery in what was then called Wood River Field, an area south of the City of Wood River. As houses began being built close to the refinery, the population there grew to the point that in 1921, this unincorporated area became the incorporated Village of Roxana.

Originally constructed on 336 acres, the refinery now covers 1888 acres, and is the largest in the ConocoPhillips system.

Local lore is that the name Roxana was chosen to honor Queen Roxanne of the Netherlands, inasmuch as the village owed its very existence to state owned Royal Dutch Shell. That seems unlikely, however, as there has never been a Queen Roxanne of the Netherlands. The Dutch monarch at the time was Wilhelmina of the Netherlands. More likely, the town owes its name to Roxana, one of the wives of Alexander the Great.

A Baptist Church was organized in September 1921, and the land where the current First Baptist Church of Roxana now stands at the corner of Tydeman Street and Central Avenue was purchased in early 1922. The first services were held there on December 3, 1922. J.A. Wilson served as the church's first pastor.

A formal Village Hall, called for by a vote for a "Municipal Building," was built on bonds in 1938. It currently houses Roxana's Village President, Treasurer, Water Department, and Clerk's offices, the fire and police departments, the Village board room, and a municipal gymnasium.

In the early 1940s, a large art deco style theater was built at the northwest corner of Thomas Street and Central Avenue, at 400 N. Central Avenue. To the south across Thomas Street lay Burbank School built in 1936, and cattecorner at the southeast corner lay Roxana Drug Store.

Seating approximately 580 people, the theater was originally designed for vaudeville acts as well as movie showings. In 1949, a tornado tore the roof off, but after repairs were made, the theater reopened. In the late 1960s, it was closed for nearly two years before being sold in June 1968 from the estate of Albert Critchlow to Bloomer Amusement Co. of Belleville. It was thereafter operated as BAC Cine for many years. In 1992, the Cine was purchased by Kerasotes Theatres, Inc., of Springfield, Illinois, which operated it until its closing in February 2002.

In 2000, the theatre was purchased from Kerasotes and was donated to the Roxana Church of the Nazarene, which is located just north of the theatre. The Church now operates the building as the Nazarene Community Center, where it is available for rental and group events.

how terrific, eh? i know boredom lead to this but looking back, i have no regrets:) ahahahaha:) special thanks to google search and wikipedia...it is never ok to use this source for research:)