Nostalgia & History > The Headquarters Of The ICRR St. Louis Division

Yesterday, I posted a photo of an Illinois Central Mikado passing through downtown Carbondale, Illinois.  The headquarters building of the railroad's St. Louis Division was visible to the right of the shot.  Here we see the division headquarters in it prime, and in its decline.

1.  This postcard view shows what almost seem unimaginable today... a railroad company giving a damn about the community it occupies.  The building was first erected in 1899, and was then expanded twice.  The office building itself was located along Oak Street on the east side of the track and the rest of the block south of the building was maintained as a park, complete with gazebo and fountain.  Much different than gravel, broken glass and a "No Trespassing" sign so common today.

2. On April 7, 1974, the office still looked presentable, though the park was long replaced for parking.  James P. Marcus slide, my collection.

3. In July, 1981, a southbound freight passes the St. Louis Division office in a John E. Carpenter photo from my collection.

Mary McPherson
Dongola, IL
Diverging Clear Productions

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4. By June 19, 1984, the office building was still in use by the Illinois Central Gulf, but the St. Louis Division had been abolished.  The majority of it was folded into the Midwest Division, headquartered in Champaign.

5. On the night of January 10th, 1986, employees spotted an intruder in the building running up the stairs.  A few minutes later, a fire was discovered in the attic.  The attic was full of old documents and between the abundant paper and the materials of the old wood-framed building, the fire had quickly grown out of control.  By the time the fire department arrived, all they could do was spray water to keep embers from setting other buildings on fire.

6. Two days after the fire, this was what remained.  The shell would soon be knocked down.

Mary McPherson
Dongola, IL
Diverging Clear Productions



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/12/19 02:18 by MaryMcPherson.

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Nice water shot in number three.
JB

3rdswitch Wrote:
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> Nice water shot in number three.
> JB

With all the college bars nearby, we only hope that's water.....

Mary McPherson
Dongola, IL
Diverging Clear Productions