In 1914, the Illinois Central Railroad began construction of a subway in Mattoon to eliminate congestion and travel delays, demolishing several buildings including Essex House and Union Depot, laying tracks below grade at the former intersection of the Illinois Central Railroad and the Big Four, and erecting five bridges across the tracks; completion of the now historic depot finished the project in 1916 and made road and rail traffic more orderly and safer. By 1900, Mattoon had grown from a simple railroad crossing into a thriving community of 9,622 with public services and utilities including police and fire departments, a water works, and a telephone company. The Mattoon Telephone Company, established in 1894, grew to be the largest family-owned telephone company in the U.S., and Consolidated Communications has operated a national fiber-optic network with local operations in multiple states since it became a public company in 2003. The Mattoon City Railway Company ran a single-track streetcar line from 1901 to 1928, and the electric vehicles provided the scale needed to operate an electric generator, helping the company grow into what became the major electric utility Ameren Corporation. As Mattoon developed, bicycles and then automobiles changed local transportation, streets were paved, traffic signs were installed, and parking was provided. Its social and cultural life also expanded, with saloons serving as important gathering places, team sports becoming part of the social fabric, African American barbers working in town around the turn of the century, faith communities including many Protestant denominations, Catholics, and a Jewish congregation, and the African American Second Missionary Baptist Church having been founded in 1869.