June 2025.
The Hobbs Building is a really great eclectic Victorian building that features Romanesque Revival, Queen Anne, and exotic revival elements. It and its neighbors are examples of the fruits of the preservation movement--restored historic buildings that both beautify the streetscape and are in use by local businesses instead of sitting empty.
The Hobbs Building is located at 2-4 North River Street in downtown Aurora, Illinois. It is bordered by 6-12 North River Street to the north, Galena Boulevard and a parking lot to the south, River Street to the east, and Middle Avenue to the west.
History
Historic photo of the Hobbs Building c. 1901. This seems to be when a performer jumped from the building’s dome into a pool of water. (The Hobbs website)
The Hobbs Building was designed in 1892 by James E. Minott for Albert Hobbs, a local businessman who planned to open his family’s furniture store business inside. Built as an Eclectic work with Romanesque Revival and Queen Anne cues, the building is similarly odd in its structural composition--it has masonry bearing walls, heavy timber, and post-and-beam wood framing. With 23,590 square feet of space, the Hobbs Building was completed in 1895. The builder was Levi Hull Waterhouse, a prominent Chicago contractor who built many of Aurora’s pre-1900 brick buildings.
If you want to see something criminal…here is the Hobbs Building (far right) and its surroundings c. 1920s. All of the buildings south of Galena Boulevard have been demolished. (NRHP listing)
Hobbs’ store originally included undertaking services, which was common for the time, but he changed his focus to furniture alone in the early 1900s. This resulted in increased popularity, and his store was considered “the leading furniture house in Kane County” by 1909. Hobbs operated within the front of the building until his death in 1926, after which the store and building were sold to Elmer and Grover Simons. Most of the upper floor tenants left afterwards, as did the last holdout after the Simons closed their store in 1932.
After 1932, the Hobbs Building changed hands many times, and various short-lived businesses occupied space inside. A few alterations took place over the years, namely the removal of the cornice and additions to the building (now demolished). Renovations were planned over the years but none occurred.
The Hobbs Building prior to its restoration. (The Hobbs website)
The departure of McGhee’s Tool Outlet in 1990 marked the beginning of a long period of vacancy for the building. The city of Aurora took ownership in 2016, after which the dome was removed due to structural issues, and in 2019 a developer began renovating the building. It opened in 2023 as an apartment building with a restaurant below. The Hobbs Building was also listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2021.
Photos
This is one of my favorite buildings in Aurora. I love its fanciful architecture and the many small details that make the Hobbs Building lovely.
The eclectic design is illustrated by the various hallmarks of different styles employed across the entire building. The brick and stone materiality, vaulted windows, and pilasters are indicative of Romanesque Revival architecture. However, the turret, bay windows, and what remains of the cornice are Queen Anne features. Finally, the inclusion of a crowning onion dome shows the influence of an exotic revival style. Side note--I understand that the NRHP listing identifies this as Richardsonian Romanesque architecture, but I have to disagree, as it lacks the stone materiality, massing, and rustication of the style.
Much of the building is composed of brick, but many different materials abound here. The square windows have limestone lintels and sills, and the foundation is built of limestone as well. The bay windows and turret are clad in diagonal siding, intended to imitate the original stamped metal sheeting. The storefronts are typical large plate-glass windows supported by cast-iron mullions. Finally, the rebuilt onion dome has some kind of metal shingles painted blue.
The NRHP listing really played up this building’s original condition, but I’m not sure how true that is anymore after its renovation. I know for sure that the original and antique replacement wooden windows have been restored, and that the original stamped tin ceiling and other features on the first floor were removed. It looks like any character in the floors above has been removed in favor of the usual “stripped-down” aesthetic popular with apartments in historic buildings.
Here is the slimmer west facade:
It’s only four bays wide and identical to the larger south side, so I figured I’d get it out of the way and get to the bulk of the building.
The south facade looked just fantastic in the sun:
The interruption of the mostly flat wall surfaces by bay windows is very typical of the Queen Anne style. Otherwise, the fenestration is even and regular. However, the shapes vary, from simple rectangular double-hung windows to the elaborate vaulted windows on the third floor.
Detail of the arches and their brickwork:
The subtle details make this part pop. The elaborate vaults are accentuated by curving bricks, dentils, and a hood mold across the top that adds a great deal of depth. These arches spring from original copper capitals that are attached to the pilasters below. Above, a special rusticated brick is used in the spandrels, which is only seen in that part of the building. Finally, unique patterned terra-cotta is used underneath the piers above.
The fourth floor has egg-and-dart molding on top of its pilasters:
I saved the best for last…here is the top of the turret and its massive dome:
Is it a little out of scale and not quite in stylistic harmony with the rest of the building? Yes. Is it also a cool thing to put on a Victorian building to make it more interesting? Also yes. This is one of those architectural features that is very iconic within Aurora.
Up close, you can see the original cornice pattern better:
It sucks that whatever jag removed this in the 1960s left us to stare at this remaining fragment and wonder what could have been. The many different patterns add lots of depth and appropriately crown a building of this design. When cornices are removed on historic buildings, they look empty, because an integral part of the building’s architectural expression is now absent. It would be like taking the eaves off of a Wright house, or the I-beams off of a Mies skyscraper. Would it look more clean? Probably, to a layperson. Does the building still achieve the same effect architecturally? Absolutely not. Regardless of how you feel about applied ornament, it is still an important feature of Victorian architecture. I wish the developer was able to recreate this cornice and replace it, but I understand that was probably outside the scope of their work, which still sucks.
I’m glad that the Hobbs Building has escaped an unsure fate and that brighter days are ahead. It’s good to see the dome on Aurora’s skyline once more.
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