Station #7

Station #7. . Because of the active railroad freight and passenger line, overnight lodging facilities were in demand, and several hotels were constructed. The most imposing of the early hotels was the Union House, later the Planters House Hotel; it stood on the northwest corner of Illinois Avenue and Jackson Street. The hotel was enlarged to three stories in 1874 as depicted in the photo to the right. Known as the Franklin Hotel in the twentieth century, it was demolished in 1991., The photo to the left depicts a southbound view of the 100 block of North Illinois Avenue (ca. 1890). The Oldenhage Building in the foreground was built prior to 1890 and was extensively remodeled in 1917. In 1887, the City Council ordered fourteen streets improved and five-foot brick, rather than oak plank, sidewalks constructed on Main and other major streets. Broad twelve-foot-wide brick or stone walks were also ordered for the east, north, and west sides of the Town Square.