(First image) This image looks south on Commerce Street from the intersection of Market Street and High Street toward the Athearn Hotel. George W. Athearn, Sr., owned the Athearn Hotel and the Oshkosh Hotel Company, made up of many Oshkosh businessmen. The hotel was designed by William Waters in 1886, with construction starting in 1889 and completed in 1891. Oshkosh furniture manufacturer’s products furnished it. It occupied a city block bounded by High Avenue, Market, and Division. It was one of the largest hotels in the state of Wisconsin. The Athearn Hotel was demolished in 1964. The debris from the demolition was used to enlarge the island that held the Pioneer Inn.
Construction was started on the bandstand in 1891, but due to lack of funding, it wasn’t completed until the summer of 1895. The bandstand was moved from this location and rebuilt in Menominee Park in 1907.