Railroads and Industry

Railroads and Industry. . The arrival of railroad transportation brought the mechanism for moving large quantities of goods in and out of the city. Early industries sprang up along the tracks and around railroad stations. , Illinois Central Freight Depot , Originally a one-story building, the depot was built in 1906 adjacent to a mill. A spur of the Illinois Central Railroad tracks passed this depot, along Railroad Street, later renamed Morton Street. A second story was added to the depot in 1922. , Pike Lumber Located on Morton Street, formerly Railroad Street, Pikee Lumber took advantage of being close to the tracks. , Coal distributors dotted the rail line. Notice the Showers Building in the background. , Bloomington Wholesale Foods , The Bloomington Wholesale Foods building was constructed in 1915. Its location next to the B-Line Trail (formerly the Louisville, New Albany and Salem/Monon Railroad) permitted easy loading onto rail cars. , Initially built as a warehouse, the building was sensitively adapted for retail uses in 1988. , Many buildings such as Bloomington Wholesale Foods were built with one side parallel to the tracks giving the building a polygon shape.