Main Street in the early 1920s

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You've seen several photos of Main Street from this point, but have you seen this photo? It represents Main Street in the early 1920s.  Citizens National Bank (with its pillars) was constructed in the early 1920s. The photographer, a woman – Mrs. Harley Lugibihl – was an accomplished photographer and several of her photographs are part of the standard historical photograph record of this community.

There are several things to point out in this photo.

Main Street is bricked, not paved. The Western Ohio interurban tracks are in the center of the street. Note the side track at the bottom of the photo. That siding went between what is now the Shannon Theatre and Ten Thousand Villages. TTV was the Western Ohio Railway depot.

The buildings on the east side of Main stand today. On the west side, things are different. Those buildings south of Citizens National Bank no long stand.

Next, notice the street lights. The 2010 streetscape program brought that look back to Main Street.

This photo offers several other images of Bluffton from the 1920s, including a barber pole on the east side of the street. What else do you see that has changed in 90 years? (Photo from Fred Steiner collection)