The Arch Café was named after the immense granite railroad arch that flanked the café’s south side and carried the Penn Central railroad over Main Street. There was additional damage to the Army&Navy store on the ground floor of the Hotel and to the Friendly Tavern across the street. ![]() Changes in the transportation patterns from rail to automobiles had brought the once proud Hotel to near financial collapse, but it was a handy tryst place for subcultural denizens. Sixty windows were blown out in the side of the Hotel Charles right next to the Café. No one was injured in the blast, but the building, which the owners estimated to be worth $90,000, was totally destroyed. In the newspaper photo published the next day, it looks like the walls blew out and the roof lifted, broke, and then resettled onto what had just become a pile of rubble. ![]() At five in the morning of Wednesday, September 12, 1973, an explosion leveled the Arch Café at 1737 Main Street in downtown Springfield.
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