The Arlington Hotel anchors the wide expanse of railroad tracks that cuts through the heart of De Soto.
Depending on who you ask on the streets of De Soto, the hotel was built in the 1850s or 1860s in the Greek Revival. It’s for sale as well.
But wow, those railroad tracks. The railroad has operated a repair facility here since the 1870s, and this huge right-of-way accommodates the tracks through the center of town.
To the west of the tracks, the downtown spreads along the railroad, and the shoots up onto dramatic bluffs only a block or two west of Main Street.
Retaining walls hold back the hill, and there is a staircase and street that goes up to the top of the bluffs. The Joachim Creek sits to the east of downtown.
There is also a wonderful Art-Deco movie house.
Very little fits in between the one row of buildings along Main Street and the bluffs, but this store is one business that sits on a side street.
