The Broadgauge On N. 7th Street, Petersburg, Illinois
A view of the recently rehabilitated Broadgauge building in downtown Petersburg that sits catty-corner from the Menard County Courthouse on the northwest side of square. The Broadgauge lies within the Petersburg Historic District listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1976.
Constructed in 1872, the Broadgauge was built as central Illinois' original "mega store," containing under one roof hardware, grocery and dry goods stores. The following is excerpted from the Broadgauge website: According to local poet Edgar Lee Masters (Spoon River Anthology), "John Brahm had built the stone faced bank on the corner with its marble columns, and the large store on the corner, always called the “broad-gauge”, and a very fine store it was, finished inside in walnut, with counters of walnut, and shelves back of them on which were goods not surpassed in quality and variety in the stores of Springfield."
Over the past 150 years, the Broadgauge has been home to a variety of retail and office businesses. Under new ownership the building has recently been redeveloped into a restaurant, bar, coffee shop, and event center.
The Broadgauge On N. 7th Street, Petersburg, Illinois
A view of the recently rehabilitated Broadgauge building in downtown Petersburg that sits catty-corner from the Menard County Courthouse on the northwest side of square. The Broadgauge lies within the Petersburg Historic District listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1976.
Constructed in 1872, the Broadgauge was built as central Illinois' original "mega store," containing under one roof hardware, grocery and dry goods stores. The following is excerpted from the Broadgauge website: According to local poet Edgar Lee Masters (Spoon River Anthology), "John Brahm had built the stone faced bank on the corner with its marble columns, and the large store on the corner, always called the “broad-gauge”, and a very fine store it was, finished inside in walnut, with counters of walnut, and shelves back of them on which were goods not surpassed in quality and variety in the stores of Springfield."
Over the past 150 years, the Broadgauge has been home to a variety of retail and office businesses. Under new ownership the building has recently been redeveloped into a restaurant, bar, coffee shop, and event center.