Trolley Barn Moves Into Second Century of Business

Entering the from Kansas Street, visitors pass through a foyer painted to re-create a view from a century ago, when trolleys rolled up and down Kansas Street. Inside, reproductions of century-old photos and resident artist John Tylk’s trolley-theme paintings provide another glimpse into vintage Frankfort.

Nowadays, residents might never know that trolley tracks once ran down the middle of Kansas Street from 1908-1922. Instead of being a center for transportation, the Trolley Barn is now a place of commerce, housing stores, restaurants and even a museum. Moving into its second century of existence, as current tenants such as expand and others like the move out, this village landmark appears to have a future as filled with transition and flux as its past.

Connecting North and South by Rail

In the early 20th century, quiet, farm town Frankfort was but one part of the Joliet Southern Traction Company’s grand plan to build an inter-urban rail system that stretched from Aurora to Chicago Heights and on into Indiana. By 1909, the track finally reached Chicago Heights, and nine daily round trips were scheduled between there and Aurora, with the 42.5 mile route taking three hours to travel.

However, bad weather, problems with farmers' cattle on the tracks, as well as the rise of the automobile, led to financial troubles for the JSTC (by then reorganized as the Joliet and Eastern Traction Company), and the line shut down in 1922.

But the Trolley Barn would not sit empty for long. Frankfort businessman Art Bauch soon bought the property, first selling tractors, then later cars, out of the building. Bauch also added a second story living quarters above what is now Down Home Guitars.

By the 1950s, Cooper-Show Ford moved in, doing business there for three decades. By 1996, though, the building had sat unused for years, filled with the remnants of a short-lived auto parts store, along with "fire sale" office furniture collected by the then-owner, said Amy Wilson, who along with her husband, Dave, purchased the property that year. It had also become home to about 100 stray cats.

“The smell was horrible, and there was one real wild one we had to trap and take out,” Amy Wilson said.

The Trolley Barn had other problems, too. The interior was falling apart, the land in back was overgrown weedy woods, and there were underground storage tanks to be cleaned up. However, the building itself was solid as could be.

“The 18-foot tall walls are poured concrete,” Wilson said. “That’s why the building was in such good standing.”

The giant steel arm that turned the trolleys around and repositioned them over the pits in the floor so maintenance workers could get underneath was still functional. The Wilsons had to cut away most of the arm when creating the upstairs retail space, but they left a exposed segment connected to the vertical pole, a permanent reminder of the building’s origins. They also chose to leave the slatted wood ceiling uncovered, deciding it looked just fine after a major power washing.

Creating a New Identity for the Barn

Soon the Wilsons’ vision of creating a charming, unique indoor mall for antiques and other specialty shops became a reality.

“We were 100 percent leased by the time we started the remodel,” Wilson said.

But by 2003, the Wilsons found it too difficult to continue to own their business, Wilson Heating and Air Conditioning, and be landlords for the Trolley Barn. They sold the property that year. Since that time, the building has changed hands again.

“We bought it because we just like to restore old things,” Wilson said. "We used to walk the downtown and think, 'Frankfort needs a place like this.' "

Moving On to the Next 100 Years

As owners change, so do tenants. But that change can bring new opportunities as the Trolley Barn redefines itself for the 21st century.

The Watershed Cafe and Bookstore recently announced its moving sale and will be relocating to the former Bridge Community Church space on U.S. Route 30 in Frankfort. 

"We're more than doubling our space," said Watershed's manager, Trish Rickard. "We also really needed to be street side, and this move was a better opportunity for expansion."

However, the departure of Watershed has opened up the space for Down Home Guitars, which had signed a lease in November 2010 to expand into the Trolley Barn's second floor.

Down Home Guitars owner Steve Haberichter said he has finalized negotiations with the landlord and is just waiting to receive a copy of the new lease for the Watershed space with possession expected April 1. 

"I wanted more space for piano and drum lessons," Haberichter said. "I still have a lot of work to do up there to build lesson rooms, but I like that I'll be over my own store now."

As of April 1, 2011, the Trolley Barn will be home to  (on the north side of the first and second floors) and the  (which occupies the first- and second-floor space at the back of the Trolley Barn), with ,  and  rounding out the south half of the first floor. Independent artists, such as John Tylk and Pamela Biesen, showcase their art in the gallery's Curiosity Case just inside the main entrance.

Currently available is the western-facing second-floor space that Watershed recently renovated and has a view of and Kansas Street (complete with balcony), as well as the former s and Color Me Brown storefronts on the south side of the second floor.

Karen Blake, executive director of the Frankfort Chamber of Commerce says she thinks that these changes will have a positive effects on the Trolley Barn.

"We're sorry to see Watershed go," she said, "but they're staying in Frankfort and will be in a space that better meets their needs. Having Down Home Guitars be able to move into their old space, it's a good thing. I'm glad it all worked out."