Check Out This Promotional Video of Rockford From 1949

Here's an opportunity to take a step back in time.

Take a look at this 10-minute promotional video for the City of Rockford from the year 1949. The credits indicate it was produced for the Rockford Chamber of Commerce. Rockford: An American City! Rockford: At The Top in Illinois!

There's so much good stuff in here. You can view a number of old storefronts highlighted early in the video along with the downtown Rockford hotels. See a number of new homes under construction in a city where "62% of residents own their home." Listen to the bragging of more than 80 churches, five hospitals, and the YMCA log lodge on the Rock River.

A good chunk of time is spent on Rockford's manufacturing industry. The video says the city had more than 400 manufacturing plants employing more than 25% of the city's population.

And look what we found deep inside the old prize closet -- classic WROK TV ads from back in the day. Here's one for the Riley O'Neil afternoon show from 1987:

And here's one featuring former WROK newsman Ken DeCoster and Fred Speer: