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Louis Katz and Son’s
(Gowin’s Restaurant) Louis Katz and Sons opened in 1877. The Katz store was a clothing and department store 1700 Broadway. Eye, ear, nose and throat doctor, C.B. Voigt and other doctors had their offices upstairs. Prior to 1945, the front facade was either replaced or covered up. This renovation was much less attractive than the former appearance. L. Katz and Sons can still be clearly read on the rear of the building. This is one of the oldest building on Broadway, as most are dated from 1900 to 1920. As late as 1945, there were five building between this building and the Illinois Central, including Majestic Hat Cleaning and Shoe Repair, The Victory Café, and Knight’s Buffet. The Katz building will be the western most building after the Helen Montgomery building, seen to the left, is torn down in the next few weeks (written on April 12, 2004) as part of the Big Four Depot demolition project. The Montgomery building held the former Knight’s Buffet, and more recently Knight’s Lounge (no doubt named after the former Knight’s Buffet) and lastly, Images. It is actually two buildings, as can be seen in old photos. Though the bottom floor is still in use, the building is rapidly decaying. Upstairs windows are broken out and the top floor is open to the elements. The roofs leaks so badly, that water sometimes seeps all the way to the restaurant below. If anyone knows anymore about this building please e-mail me.
This building fell from the "Top Ten Endangered" to the "Graveyard" on New Year's Day 2005 |
