Merchant Street, a block-long commercial street bordered by E. Prairie St. on the north, and E, Main St. on the south, is the heart of the Decatur Downtown Historic District. This viewlshows the east side of Merchant St. as seen from E. Prairie St.
Nine buildings are situated on the east side of Merchant St. The original facades of the buildings on Merchant St. are well-maintained and highly cohesive. The same building height - three stories - generally prevails and the same material - brick - is used throughout. Commercial Italianate is the predominant style and exhibits a high degree of architectural detail. All nine of the buildings on the east side were constructed between the 1860s and 1910, and all are significant architectural properties in the Decatur Downtown Historic District. Four of the nine also are significant historical properties.
Decatur is the seat of Macon County. The city was founded in 1829 and is situated along the Sangamon River and Lake Decatur in central Illinois. Decatur has an economy based on industrial and agricultural commodity processing and production. The city is home of private Millikin University and public Richland Community College.
Decatur's estimated population for 2019 was 70,746, making Decatur the thirteenth-most populous city in Illinois, and the state's sixth-most populous city outside the Chicago metropolitan area.
Tags: Decatur Macon County Central Illinois Illinois IL Street View East Side 100 Block Merchant St. Architecture Architectural Style Italianate Early 20th Century Commercial Building Significant Property Architectural Historical Decatur Downtown Historic District National Register of Historic Places NRHP Reference # 85001011 Canon EOS 5D Mark IV Season Winter
Merchant Street, a block-long commercial street bordered by E. Prairie St. on the north, and E, Main St. on the south, is the heart of the Decatur Downtown Historic District. This view looks to the south from E. Prairie St.
The Merchant Street block consists of the nine structures along the east side of Merchant St. On the west side of Merchant St. are three buildings, all of which have N. Main St. addresses. The original facades of the buildings on Merchant St. are well-maintained and highly cohesive. The same building height - three stories - generally prevails and the same material - brick - is used throughout. Commercial Italianate is the predominant style and exhibits a high degree of architectural detail.
Eleven of the 12 total buildings in this block are significant properties within the historic district. The eleven significant buildings were all constructed between the 1860s and 1910. One modern building, located on west side of Merchant St. near E. Main St., is a non-contributing property. The most interesting of these buildings will be highlighted in future posts.
Decatur is the seat of Macon County. The city was founded in 1829 and is situated along the Sangamon River and Lake Decatur in central Illinois. Decatur has an economy based on industrial and agricultural commodity processing and production. The city is home of private Millikin University and public Richland Community College.
Decatur's estimated population for 2019 was 70,746, making Decatur the thirteenth-most populous city in Illinois, and the state's sixth-most populous city outside the Chicago metropolitan area.
Tags: Decatur Macon County Central Illinois Illinois IL Street View 100 Block Merchant St. Architecture Architectural Style Italianate Early 20th Century Commercial Building Architecturally Significant Property Decatur Downtown Historic District National Register of Historic Places NRHP Reference # 85001011 Canon EOS 5D Mark IV
This view looks south from the corner of E. Prairie Ave. and N. Main St., and shows the entrance to the block long Merchant St. on the left, considered the heart of Decatur, and the 100 block of N. Main St. on the right. All of the buildings in this view south to Lincoln Square (stoplight one block away on N. Main) lie within the Decatur Downtown Historic District, which was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1985. The buildings in this area were all constructed between 1854 and 1916.
Decatur is the seat of Macon County. The city was founded in 1829 and is situated along the Sangamon River and Lake Decatur in central Illinois. Decatur has an economy based on industrial and agricultural commodity processing and production. The city is home of private Millikin University and public Richland Community College.
Decatur's estimated population for 2019 was 70,746, making Decatur the thirteenth-most populous city in Illinois, and the state's sixth-most populous city outside the Chicago metropolitan area.
Tags: Decatur Macon County Central Illinois Illinois IL Street View Merchant St. 100 Block N. Main St. E. Prairie Ave. Architecture Decatur Downtown Historic District National Register of Historic Places NRHP Reference # 85001011 Lincoln Theater Canon EOS 5D Mark IV
Explore #10 on January 29, 2021.
A view of the north side of the 100 Block of E. Prairie Ave. in downtown Decatur. This east-west avenue lies directly across from the entrance to Merchant St., considered to be the heart of the city.
Four of the buildings in this view, hidden behind two facades, are contributing properties in the Decatur Downtown Historic District which was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1985.
On the left, at the intersection of E. Prairie Ave. and N. Main St., is 100-104 E. Prairie Ave. Behind the tan, two-story facade are two separate buildings constructed in 1885. Both are contributing properties in the district for their architecture.
Next door to the right, is a non-contributing building. Although it is an older structure, the remodeling of its exterior has made it unrecognizable in terms of preservation.
The next two buildings, hidden behind a single, pinkish facade with a simple brick corbeled cornice, were constructed in 1865. Both 112 and 116 E. Prairie Ave. are contributing properties in the district for their architecture. The buildings seen to the right of 116 E. Prairie Ave. are outside the boundaries of the historic district.
Decatur is the seat of Macon County. The city was founded in 1829 and is situated along the Sangamon River and Lake Decatur in central Illinois. Decatur has an economy based on industrial and agricultural commodity processing and production. The city is home of private Millikin University and public Richland Community College.
Decatur's estimated population for 2019 was 70,746, making Decatur the thirteenth-most populous city in Illinois, and the state's sixth-most populous city outside the Chicago metropolitan area.
Tags: Explore In Explore Explored Decatur Macon County Central Illinois Illinois IL Street View E. Prairie Ave. 100 Block Architecture Late 19th Century Early 20th Century Commercial Buildings Architectural Style 100 E. Prairie Ave. 104 E. Prairie Ave. 112 E. Prairie Ave. 116 E. Prairie Ave. Contributing Property Decatur Downtown Historic District National Register of Historic Places NRHP Reference # 85001011 Canon EOS 5D Mark IV Season Winter
Explore #60 Thon September 4, 2023
The Transfer House is the official symbol of the City of Decatur. Originally located in downtown's Lincoln Square, the unique structure was built in 1895-96 to serve as the main transportation center for transferring trolley, interurban and bus passengers around the community. From 1895 until the early 1970's, the Transfer House served as a transportation center.
Construction of the Transfer House began in 1895, but was not completed until February 21, 1896. It was designed by architectural mastermind W. W. Boyington. Arguably, his most famous building is Chicago Landmark, the Chicago Water Tower and Pumping Station on North Michigan Avenue. Boyington chose the Romanesque Revival style of architecture, which began in the mid 1840's and became the dominant style used during the 1850's and 1860's for public buildings, churches, and commercial buildings.
Key features to this style found on the Transfer House are the massive limestone voussoirs arches and the use of limestone masonry with thin mortar joints. The octagonal shape was chosen to increase floor to wall space and to provide for a bell-shaped roof with generous overhang. On the second level a bandstand was created - an ideal and progressive feature used for public speeches and announcements, as well as for a source of entertainment - making the Transfer House a vital part of the community.
All electric street cars and interurbans that went through Decatur had to utilize the Transfer House. From a functional standpoint, if a person was riding a streetcar, they would be making a stop at the Transfer House which made it a common meeting point. A 1913 survey claimed that in addition to 82 Interurbans a day, 36 streetcars an hour passed through Lincoln Square totaling 730 cars per day. This high volume coupled with the second story bandstand attracted multiple well known speakers. A few of the more prominent figures were Presidential Candidate, Williams Jennings Bryan and Presidents, William Taft, Woodrow Wilson, and Theodore Roosevelt.
In the Transfer House's later years on Lincoln Square, the building saw continual use when the City Bus Lines made it their official central transfer point in 1936. The magnitude to which the Transfer House was still used was enormous. A perfect example occurred on August 14, 1945, Victory over Japan Day, the evening that victory and peace for World War II was announced. Celebrations took place around the Transfer House as people crowded the streets, climbed atop its roof, and rejoiced.
As technology and society advanced and cars became more common, the Transfer House would lose the large number of the passengers it had once seen on a daily basis. When the electric street cars and interurban fully disbanded in the 1950's, the City Bus Lines and Grey Hound Bus Service were the only mass transportation service to make use of the Transfer House. Eventually, bus ridership too, would decline.
In the early 1960's, the Illinois Department of Transportation recommended moving the Transfer House from Lincoln Square to accommodate a new traffic plan which would turn Main Street into a one-way thoroughfare through town. Based on this study, in September of 1962, the City council decided that the Transfer House would be moved to Central Park - the very square that sparked the competition for the Transfer House to be built in the first place. In its new home, the Transfer House continued to house the city bus lines as well as Santa Claus during the Christmas season. Sadly, by the end of the decade, the Transfer House sat vacant and in disrepair. Seeing a need, Civic leaders stepped forward and by 1970, it was remodeled and housed the Downtown Decatur Council until 2003. In 2002, the Transfer house was nominated and named to the National Register of Historic Places. It is now a protected historic landmark.
As part of sticking with tradition, the Transfer House continues to be a central focal point for the community. While the use and location have changed, it still remains a great place for people to gather and meet which was made apparent when the community rallied for a candlelight prayer vigil around the Transfer House after the September 11, 2001 attack on the United States.
In 2007, the then vacated Transfer House underwent a major renovation project on the exterior of the structure. The stone and mortar were repaired, the roof was replaced, the original marquee lights were reinstalled, the two doors which had been removed were reinstalled. The Transfer House's exterior renovations were completed in 2008 restoring it to its original grandeur. These renovations followed the Secretary of the Interior's, "Standards for the Treatment of Historic Structures" to keep the structure on the National Register of Historic Places.
Since early 2020, the Decatur Area Convention and Visitors Bureau has taken over the management of the Transfer House from the City of Decatur. For the 2020 Christmas season, Transfer House was decorated so that Santa Claus had a safe and warm place to talk with the children of Decatur.
Decatur is the seat of Macon County. The city was founded in 1829 and is situated along the Sangamon River and Lake Decatur in central Illinois. Decatur has an economy based on industrial and agricultural commodity processing and production. The city is home of private Millikin University and public Richland Community College. Decatur's estimated population in 2021 was 69,646.
Sources:
National Register Of Historic Places Registration Form
The Historical Marker Database
Tags: Explore In Explore Explored Decatur Seat Macon County Central Illinois Illinois IL Transfer House Central Park 1 Central Park East Transportation Terminal Hub Architecture Architectural Style Richardsonian Romanesque Architect William W. W.W. Boyington Historic Landmark National Register of Historic Places NRHP Reference # 02000843 Canon EOS 5D Mark IV 5DM4