Springfield got its first taste of pizza 70 years ago this month. It was the start of something big. Fred and Anna Viele, who operated The Wonder Inn tavern, 808 E. Washington St., began marketing "La Pizza" as "something new and tasty from Italy" in February 1947, according to advertisements in the Illinois State Journal. Pizza was a "delicious Italian dish idea for parties and gatherings," the ads said.

Pizza was unfamiliar enough that many of the ads included a photo of a woman holding a pie, just to demonstrate what pizza looked like. "Dial 2-0477 – Place Your Order," the Wonder Inn promised. "We Will Have It Ready for You in 10 Minutes." Shortly afterward, the Campo family began baking pizza at their establishments — the Happy Hollow Tavern and the C.C. Club, both just north of Lincoln Park, and the A-C Club, 120 N. Sixth St. (The A-C Club's advertisements also used the Wonder Inn's photo of the woman holding a pizza.)