"The brick portion of the Mount Pulaski House Hotel was
constructed in 1844 by Mr. George Payne. The frame was
added two years later. The lady depicted is Mrs. John
Downing, formerly Miss Ann Vetters. The gentleman depicted
is Mr. Herbert N. Capps, who later moved to Kansas.
Another gentleman pictured in an original photo but not depicted
in this mural painting is Herman "Pony" Mattfelt, an uncle of
E.O. and Henry Mayer."
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"The new Roth building on the north west corner of the square is
to be a two story structure, modern in every respect. The
front will be of pressed brick and plate glass. On the
ground floor, there are to be three store rooms, two of which
will be 80 feet in length by 20 feet in width, while the third
will measure 120 feet in length and 20 feet in width.
The second story will contain two suites of
offices and a lodge room, which, when completed, will be the
finest in Logan County. There will be a basement under the
whole, giving the tenants very fine storage rooms. Thus,
our progressive little city adds another fine structure to its
list of good business blocks.
Contractor A.C. Wilson has the brick work
completed to the first floor, and carpenter contractors Snyder
and Snyder have placed the joists in position on the south and
middle rooms. On the site of the new building is where the
Mt. Pulaski House stood for over a half a century. The
above picture [left] was taken just a short time before it was
torn down in the spring [1901].
This structure of early architecture will
long live in the minds of Mount Pulaskians and central Illinois
people. It was at the Mount Pulaski House where our
martyred Abraham Lincoln stopped for [relaxation & conversation]
when here on court duties."
Mt. Pulaski Weekly News - 1902
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