ZIEGLER COURT

HISTORIC SIGNIFICANCE

Watch out! A slow moving freight train might be chugging by...or maybe you recognize the far end of the alley that appeared in the film, Hoffa. The railroad was built in 1849 as the Galena and Union RR and cut through downtown, delivering and picking up goods used in the day-to-day trade that fueled the city's economy.

More than once, an impatient pedestrian climbed over the freight car connector couplings in his haste to be somewhere and suffered badly as the train started up---oooh, that hurt. Eventually the "low" Chicago and NorthWestern train was discontinued and the track removed. Go up to Ziegler Court and stand in the rail bed, facing south.--you will see the train's path behind the buildings.

The short strip running from the alley to DuPage Street and containing just three storefronts is Ziegler Court, named for its owner; there is nothing like it in downtown. The well kept building facing Spring Street is mostly original--little has been done to alter its exterior and it has the cleanest windows in downtown.

PLAQUE LOCATIONS