120 E Main

1896/1893-98 - J. Trahn Hotel

Italianate Style
This is the easternmost three-story commercial buildings in Cherokee, and has the narrowest footprint.  The facade
employs a rich variety of brick surfaces.  The front employs a very flat smooth surface with narrow mortar joints that
is ornamented with a variety of projecting belt courses, a stepped out wall plane on the upper third floor, and other
brackets and elements.
The building facade is fully obscured by a slip cover.  Historical images indicate that the storefront is of cast-iron
and likely survives beneath the covering.  The transoms and openings are framed by highly decorative cast iron
work.  A steel beam with decorative rosettes caps the storefront, being set beneath a denticulated row of brick,
possibly set at an angle.
The Trahn Hotel was established hi 1870 and re-located to this address when this building was built.  It is important
to the development of downtown Cherokee because it is the only surviving hotel building east of Second Street.
While many city hotels were located along Maple between Second and Fourth, several were along Second north of
Main and this one was one of the latter.  This tall yet narrow hotel plan contained stores on the ground level.