West Side Historic District (Aurora, Illinois)

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West Side Historic District
Charles P. Burton House.JPG
Charles P. Burton House, a significant building in the district
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LocationRoughly bounded by W. Downer Pl., Lake St., Garfield Ave., and S. Highland St., Aurora, Illinois
Coordinates 41°45′11″N88°19′31″W / 41.75306°N 88.32528°W / 41.75306; -88.32528 Coordinates: 41°45′11″N88°19′31″W / 41.75306°N 88.32528°W / 41.75306; -88.32528
Architectural style Queen Anne; Italianate; Colonial Revival; Bungalow; Craftsman; Classical Revival; Prairie School
NRHP reference # 86001484
Added to NRHPAugust 13, 1986

The West Side Historic District is a set of ninety-eight buildings on the west side of the Fox River in Aurora, Illinois. Of these, seventy-seven contribute to the historical value of the district.

Fox River (Illinois River tributary) tributary of the Illinois River

The Fox River is a 202-mile-long (325 km) tributary of the Illinois River, flowing from southeastern Wisconsin to Ottawa, Illinois in the United States. The Wisconsin section was known as the Pishtaka River in the 19th century. There are two other "Fox Rivers" in southern Illinois: the Fox River and a smaller "Fox River" that joins the Wabash River near New Harmony, Indiana.

Aurora, Illinois City in Illinois, United States

Aurora, a suburb of Chicago, is a city in DuPage, Kane, Kendall, and Will counties in the U.S. state of Illinois. Located primarily in DuPage and Kane counties, it is an outer suburb of Chicago and the second most populous city in the state, and the 115th most populous city in the country. The population was 197,899 at the 2010 census, and was estimated to have increased to 200,965 by 2017.

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History

Aurora was platted by Samuel and Joseph McCarty in 1835. Aurora was a popular destination for settlers from the eastern United States due to its proximity to Chicago yet scenic atmosphere. The Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad relocated its headquarters to Aurora in 1855. Expecting a rise in population due to the railroad's employment opportunities, Aurora platted a new residential section of land west of the Fox River. Aurora indeed expanded rapidly during that period, almost doubling in population from 1860 to 1874. Most of the new lands were along the river, with a section following several streets westward. Industrial growth followed in the 1880s, spurring a need for developed city services. Aurora became the first city to have electric street lighting in 1881. [1]

Plat scale map showing the divisions of a piece of land

In the United States, a plat is a map, drawn to scale, showing the divisions of a piece of land. United States General Land Office surveyors drafted township plats of Public Lands Surveys to show the distance and bearing between section corners, sometimes including topographic or vegetation information. City, town or village plats show subdivisions into blocks with streets and alleys. Further refinement often splits blocks into individual lots, usually for the purpose of selling the described lots; this has become known as subdivision.

Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad American railroad from 1855 to 1970

The Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad was a railroad that operated in the Midwestern United States. Commonly referred to as the Burlington Route, the Burlington or as the Q, it operated extensive trackage in the states of Colorado, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Wisconsin, Wyoming, and also in New Mexico and Texas through subsidiaries Colorado and Southern Railway, Fort Worth and Denver Railway, and Burlington-Rock Island Railroad. Its primary connections included Chicago, Minneapolis-St. Paul, St. Louis, Kansas City and Denver. Because of this extensive trackage in the midwest and mountain states, the railroad used the advertising slogans "Everywhere West", "Way of the Zephyrs", and "The Way West".

The west side was originally noted for its wide range of Italianate residences. Two large apartment buildings were built along Downer Place between 1882 and 1890. As construction in the district continued in the 1890s, Queen Anne became the dominate architectural style. Smaller houses were built in the Foursquare style, some with Prairie School influences. [1]

American Foursquare

The American Foursquare or American Four Square is an American house style popular from the mid-1890s to the late 1930s. A reaction to the ornate and mass-produced elements of the Victorian and other Revival styles popular throughout the last half of the 19th century, the American Foursquare was plain, often incorporating handcrafted "honest" woodwork. This style incorporates elements of the Prairie School and the Craftsman styles. It is also sometimes called Transitional Period.

Prairie School architectural style

Prairie School is a late 19th- and early 20th-century architectural style, most common to the Midwestern United States. The style is usually marked by horizontal lines, flat or hipped roofs with broad overhanging eaves, windows grouped in horizontal bands, integration with the landscape, solid construction, craftsmanship, and discipline in the use of ornament. Horizontal lines were thought to evoke and relate to the wide, flat, treeless expanses of America's native prairie landscape.

The west side district was the homestead for wealthy Aurora citizens throughout its history. Local pharmacist David Hurd owned a Second Empire home, constructed in 1856 and now recognized as an Aurora Landmark. Aurora mayor Fred O. White designed a Queen Anne residence that was completed after his death by his wife. White's sisters-in-law, Mary and Emma Todd, moved in shortly afterward. William Jobbins was the president of Alba Manufacturing Co. and lived in a 1909 Colonial Revival residence. The Col. Ira C. Copley Mansion was constructed for Ira Clifton Copley, founder of the Copley Press and later member of the U.S. House of Representatives from 1911 to 1923. His house was designed by Jarvis Hunt and constructed in 1917. [1]

Col. Ira C. Copley Mansion

The Colonel Ira C. Copley Mansion, is a historic residence in Aurora, Illinois.

Ira Clifton Copley American publisher, politician, and utility tycoon

Ira Clifton Copley was an American publisher, politician, and utility tycoon. Born in rural Knox County, Illinois, Copley's family moved to Aurora when Copley was two so that he could be treated for scarlet fever. After graduating from Yale College and the Union College of Law, Copley assumed management of the Aurora Gas Light Company. He successfully guided the company into a regional utilities giant, eventually merging his assets into the Western Utility Corporation, which he sold in 1926.

Copley Press was a privately held newspaper business, founded in Illinois, but later based in La Jolla, California. Its flagship paper was The San Diego Union-Tribune.

See also

Healy Chapel

Healy Chapel is a historic mortuary in Aurora, Illinois. It was designed by George Grant Elmslie and is one of only a few Prairie School buildings designed for commercial purposes.

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References

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