Hofmann Tower

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Hofmann Tower
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Hofmann Tower in 2011
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Location3910 Barry Point Rd., Lyons, Illinois
Coordinates 41°49′14″N87°49′19″W / 41.82056°N 87.82194°W / 41.82056; -87.82194
Arealess than one acre
Built1908
ArchitectSauber, H.W., Construction Co.
NRHP reference No. 78001139 [1]
Added to NRHPDecember 22, 1978

Hofmann Tower is a tower in Lyons, Illinois. It was built in 1908 and was added to the National Register of Historic Places on December 22, 1978.

Hofmann Tower is featured prominently in two books written by Rose Marie Benedetti and Virginia C. Bulat entitled Lyons: A history of a village and area important for 300 years (1959) and Portage, pioneers, and pubs: A history of Lyons, Illinois (1963). [2] [3]

George Hofmann, Jr., a local brewer built a dam on the Des Plaines River to generate electricity. He also built the adjacent tower as part of a park that attracted visitors to picnic and ride boats. [2] [3]

Hofmann's heirs sold the tower to the Forest Preserve District of Cook County in 1946. [4]

In the 1970s, Rose Marie Benedetti and Maureen S. Kiener worked closely with the preservation efforts of the Village of Lyons Historical Commission to have Hofmann Tower designated a village and state landmark and placed on the National Register of Historic Places. [2] [3]

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References

  1. "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places . National Park Service. March 13, 2009.
  2. 1 2 3 Benedetti, Rose Marie; Bulat, Virginia C. (1959). Lyons: A history of a village and area important for 300 years. Riverside, Illinois: Riverside News.
  3. 1 2 3 Benedetti, Rose Marie; Bulat, Virginia C. (1963). Portage, pioneers, and pubs: A history of Lyons, Illinois. Chicago: Angel Guardian Orphanage Press.
  4. "Hofmann Tower". Salt Creek Greenway Association. Retrieved 24 January 2020.