herr2ck: Aurora Trip, pt. 7

June 2025.

Up next on the Aurora itinerary is Downer Place, which holds many significant historic buildings both intact and demolished. Some of it intersects with the Stolp Island Historic District. Strap in for a long one.

White & Todd Block

This block was really large and impossible to get in one shot. The Sanborn map of Aurora calls this the White & Todd Block, and it probably appeared as one cohesive group of buildings at one time, but four of the modules have been altered to appear as a separate unit. Each presents differently today, and different parts serve a variety of functions.

The westernmost end is a sports bar. It is largely intact except for the boarded-up storefront windows:

I think the module immediately adjacent is most intact. It retains all its original ornamentation and its wooden sash windows, as well as the storefront. Granted, it’s not in great repair, and some of the paint is chipping.

Detail of the second floor and cornice:

If I had to guess, the remaining middle portion (the “Legal Arts Building”) probably looked the same before its facade was stripped away. I also think this happened in the 1950s or 1960s.

The easternmost portion is very similar to the western corner, albeit with a differently modified base:

Frazier Building II

Attached to the c. 1890 Frazier Building I, this newer building probably dates to the turn of the 20th century, given its classical ornamentation. It has elaborate organic terra-cotta panels, and the building’s name is engraved across different areas.

The smaller north facade:

The building is symmetrical here and is four bays wide. The ornament is used as capitals for the string course above and keystones in the middle two arches, which lead to pilasters above that ultimately support the pedimented cornice:

The west facade is similar in its design:

The base is throwing me for a loop here. It appears to at least somewhat match the character of the remainder of the building with classical ornament and a denticulated string course, but the bays don’t line up and I find it unusual that so much of the storefront is a blank wall. I think it was an alteration, but a more recent one that tries to imitate the original architecture.

Detail of the sign on this side:

One of the second floor’s decorative panels:

The third floor’s are ever so slightly different:

YWCA Building/Aurora Business Center

Historic postcard of the building prior to modifications. (eBay)

This orthodox Neoclassical building was historically used by the YWCA. It is known as the Aurora Business Center today and has been altered. The changes include removal of the portico and replacement by a glass vestibule, cornice removal, and the addition of a fourth floor. The additions seemed to have occurred in the 1980s, but the other changes could have happened before.

Sherer Building/Block

A lovely 1910 Beaux-Arts design, this building with its bright sheen matches its neighbor across the street and creates a compelling view for people coming west. It was designed by Eugene Malmer (the NRHP listing claims it was “Eugene Italiter” instead) for businessman Joseph Stolp Sherer, who was the grandson of pioneer Joseph G. Stolp. His construction company was later involved with major commissions like the Aurora Hotel, Block & Kuhl Store, and the Leland Hotel, but this was the firm’s first.

The original tenants included attorneys, a real estate agent, and the Aurora Mausoleum Association. Like many similar buildings, it saw rapid turnover of businesses that leased the storefront space below. Its longest was psychologist Harold Harris’s Aurora Psychological Center, which operated from the 1950s until the 1990s. However, like other Aurora buildings at the time, it struggled beginning in the 1970s, and Harris was frequently the only operating tenant inside the building.

The Sherer Building was recently restored, which included tuck-pointing of the masonry and cleaning the facade. Aside from general age-related flaws, it is in good shape.

The building has a largely glazed brick facade, including terra-cotta ornament in the form of courses, decorative panels, and cornices. It adapts to the river in plan, and Malmer expressed the sharp corner with a rounded tower:

Note the painted vegetal panels, as well as the fancy pediment above:

The side that faces the river doesn’t respond to it very well. There is some sparse ornamentation, but the fenestration is uneven:

Metropolitan Business College

Built about five years after its northern partner, the Metropolitan Business College was also designed by Eugene Malmer and commissioned by Joseph Stolp Sherer. It once housed the eponymous school (which I couldn’t find anything about) while the ground floor served as commercial space.

The facade is almost completely glazed brick here, and the only decoration is confined to the borders around the window and the central parapet:

This motif on the west facade, which is identical to the one on the Sherer Building, made me suspect that it was designed by the same architect before my research confirmed it:

An odd feature is that each corner has a little statue on it holding…jack-o-lanterns?

3-5 West Downer Place

This building is also in the Beaux-Arts style, but it is built of mundane brick instead. It’s odd to me how half has much darker brick, yet the two seemingly separate units were clearly built as one.

Stolp Woolen Mill Store

This Italianate building doesn’t look like it (it certainly didn’t to me), but it’s one of Aurora’s oldest and most significant. Its construction dates to 1861 as a storefront for Joseph Stolp’s mill goods, which he manufactured on the island starting a decade earlier. The mill closed in 1887, and it was replaced by C. C. Hinkley & Co., which manufactured watchmaker’s tools, and J. D. Rice & Sons, an art firm. The east facade is an addition built in 1893. It is individually listed on the NRHP, as well as being part of the Stolp Island Historic District.

Aurora Silver Plate Manufacturing

The Aurora Silver Plate Manufacturing Company began operating in 1869, holding factories in both Aurora and Chicago. Its original building was a shoddy wooden factory that sat both several feet from the street and below grade, which burnt down in 1871. A new factory was designed by A. H. Ellwood, and J. E. Minott designed a four-story addition in 1892.

A portion of the old factory was incorporated into the Keystone Building, which can be seen in the alley:

The building was in poor condition for years, and it has only recently been restored. In 2007, the windows were bricked closed and the first floor was boarded up. It received some new windows by 2015, but it appeared to still sit empty. The restoration occurred during 2019 and included repair to the storefront.

The side also has this cool sign:

1895 Post Office/Aurora Recreation Center

1960s photo of the old post office (right) shortly before its demolition. (City of Aurora on Facebook)

In my opinion, this grand Richardsonian Romanesque building is Aurora’s greatest loss of its architectural heritage. Frustratingly, I couldn’t find very much about it online. The Sanborn map labels it the “Aurora Recreation Center,” but this is obviously vague and search results are typically the newer rec center in Aurora instead. Aurora’s Facebook and Instagram photos, where I found the above photo, label it as a post office. However, this seems to contradict with the NRHP listing, as it claims that a post office was incorporated into old City Hall next door. On top of that, when you look up “old post office” in quotes, you get the 1930s post office on Benton Street instead.

The only information I could find on this building was somebody’s Facebook comment, which is obviously somewhat dubious. It claims that the post office was built in 1895 (which does sound about right). By the 1940s, it became the Tomahawk Club, which was an event venue for Aurora’s east and west high schools. (The Tomcats and Blackhawks…get it?) It was demolished in 1964 for a parking lot.

This is an unusually smooth example of Richardsonian Romanesque architecture. The walls seem to be of brick, not unusual, but the typically rusticated voussoirs are also hewn smooth. The end result seems to be a proto-Postmodern design, as a lot of mock-Richardsonian designs from that period have similar characteristics.

Stolp Building + Linden & Lake Building [demolished]

The only photo I could find of these two buildings, which was long before their alterations.

These two Italianate buildings were very different initially. The Stolp Building was three stories tall and was built in 1884, while the Linden & Lake Building was two stories and built earlier between 1868 and 1872. During the 1940s or 1950s, the facades were combined into one and covered with a concrete veneer meant to resemble stone. All windows and doors were replaced. They stood by the time the Stolp Island Historic District was listed on the National Register, but they were demolished before 2007.

Old City Hall [demolished]

Engraving of the original City Hall. (NRHP listing)

Aurora’s grand Second Empire City Hall was built c. 1860 (other sources say 1866) on Stolp Island. Its central position was meant to settle debate between the east and west side on where the building would be located. Ground was broken for its foundation in 1859. A portion of City Hall was used by Aurora’s post office, and it had a large public hall that could host 800 people.

(City of Aurora on Facebook)

By the 1960s, the building was in disrepair and had been heavily altered. Its mansard roof and tower (the original tower was replaced by a simpler design around the turn of the 20th century) had been removed, and the masonry appeared worn. It was demolished with the post office for a parking lot in 1964, and a parking garage stands on the site today.

Aurora Herald/Freemasons Building

Back to the land of the living…this is the Aurora Herald Building, which was built in 1866 for usage by the newspaper and the Freemasons. It originally had a large metal cornice, which has since been removed. The building also held the Ginsberg Clothing Store. Today, it is used by the Aurora Historical Society. Note the eye motif on the datestone:

Grand Army of the Republic Memorial Hall

Historic photo of the building c. 1896. (HMDB)

Another well-known landmark of Aurora, this one luckily escaped the fate that its neighbors suffered. It was built from 1877-1878 in memorial of GAR veterans who died in service to their country. The Aurora library used the building starting in 1881, and an addition was built to the rear five years later. When the library moved to their new Carnegie building a block away, the GAR returned, and a tower addition was added.

Like its neighbors, Memorial Hall was slated for demolition for parking space, but the public rallied to save the building. Nonetheless, its rear addition was still demolished. It stands today as an uncommon Gothic Revival building in a town dominated by Italianate and Chicago School designs.

A tiny stone above the arched entrance reads “MEMORIAL BUILDING,” and the cornerstone states “ERECTED 1877.”

Detail of one of the stained-glass windows:

Obviously the GAR doesn’t exist anymore, so the building has since become a small history museum.

Fox Theatre Building

Westernmost bay at 24 East Downer.

This single building appears as three and successfully confused me into thinking they were separate buildings designed with similar features. The NRHP listing claims it was built in 1936, much too late for this style of design, but the city’s website says that its facade dates to 1910 (the building may be older).

Westernmost bay at 24 East Downer.

The Fox Theatre relocated to a new building on Galena Boulevard in 1937. It was likely converted to commercial use afterwards, as that is how the building operates today.

Westernmost bay at 24 East Downer.

Detail of the westernmost pilaster:

I’m a big fan of this building’s highly detailed terra-cotta ornamentation. I especially like the central portion, which is in excellent condition and was where the marquee once hung:

Detail of the inset arch and fox molding:

The little rosettes around the central vault hold colored lightbulbs, and those on the pilasters have empty sockets that undoubtedly did the same:

Note the lion’s head that originally held up the marquee, too. The top of the pilasters has a very high quality of ornament:

It’s faded, but you can still make out a sign on the floor that once said “FOX THEATER.”

The eastern portion:

I like these lintels and rosettes:

The east facade has been painted, but the tile sign remains:

City Hall/Western United Building

Aurora’s City Hall is a historic building, but it was not built for the city--rather, it was originally the Western United Building. Completed in 1924, it features subdued classical influences in the piers and courses. I’m not sure when the city moved in, possibly after the original city hall was demolished in the 1960s, but they have ensured it remains in good condition today.

57-65 East Downer Place

These four heavily altered Italianate buildings are near Broadway, across the Fox River. Some have original windows and cornices, but they all are painted and have had their bases altered. 57 in particular has been modified to have more literal classical decoration.