Should you happen to be standing in the middle of the intersection of Galena Boulevard and Stolp Avenue in Aurora, dear reader, one of three things is liable to occur.
The first is that you will be run over by a passing vehicle.
The second is that you will be arrested for jaywalking and/or disorderly conduct.
The third is that you will be the recipient of certain hand gestures and/or foul language.
The above may or may not occur, but you definitely will be standing in the center of Aurora. Not the geographical center, mind you, because of the way our fair city has developed over the years, but the geodetic center (look up that word). You see, the middle of the intersection of Galena Boulevard and Stolp Avenue is the zero point between east and west and between north and south. The Chas does not recommend that you stand there for more than five seconds, but he does encourage you to stand there at least once in your lifetime just for the uniqueness of the experience.
It is a roundabout way of introducing my next profile of one of Aurora’s streets, that of Stolp Avenue, which, in my humble opinion, is the heart of Aurora.
You should know that, originally, Stolp Avenue as we know it, was actually two separate streets: Stolp Avenue and Island Avenue due to the way the city developed in its early years. The second bridge to be constructed across the Fox River extended Fox Street (now East Downer Place) to the west side of Stolp Island. In 1914 the segment of Fox Street on the island was re-designated as “Lincolnway” and remained so until 1922 when it was changed back to Fox.
Stolp Avenue did not exist before 1901 when work on the new Aurora Public Library began and necessitated an access street. That street was duly named “Stolp” (what else?).
With the creation of new businesses on the island, a new north-south street was in order. It was called “Island Avenue” (what else?), and it ran north to the junction of Galena Boulevard and Main Street (now East Galena Boulevard). But, due to irregular shape of the island, the new street’s intersection with Fox was slightly east of Stolp’s intersection, hence the difference in the names. This peculiarity remained in place until 1964 when the two streets were amalgamated as “Stolp Avenue.”
At this time, I’ll deal with the original Stolp Avenue.
Five major buildings dominated this street in its early days, although, technically, one of them had a Fox Street address. It was the second U.S. Post Office, a fortress-like structure on the southeast corner of Stolp and Fox (Downer Place). The other four buildings had no street numbers before 1912, but everyone in town knew what and where they were.
The second Aurora Public Library did not get a number until 1925. Curiously, it was designated 73 Stolp, although it straddled the street. In 1929, it received a Benton Street address when construction began on the third post office just to the west of it and more accurate numbers were required. For no other reason than the administration offices of the Library were on the east side of the building was the new designation #1 Benton Street given. The Chas always has thought it should have been 0 Benton Street. Now that the Library is elsewhere, the point is moot.
The other three buildings were the Chicago Telephone Company, the only building on the east side of the street, the Columbia Conservatory of Music and Dramatic Art, and the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks, both of which were on the west side.
In 1912, the telephone exchange was designated as 64-66 Stolp Avenue (70-72 after 1929) and remained so until 1921. The following year, Illinois Bell Telephone took over the building. In 1938, it leased the northern part of the building to the Aurora Township offices; after the Township re-located in 1952, that space was turned into a storage area and the exchange operated in the southern part (re-designated as 82). Bell moved to a new address in 1956.
The Columbia Conservatory was establish in 1925 at 67 Stolp (75 after 1929) and closed its doors in 1986. During this time, the address became the home of the Aurora chapter of the American Red Cross and the Junior Red Cross from 1951 to 1973 and of the regional office of the Girl Scouts of America from 1959 to 1973.
The Elks Lodge 705 was established in 1926 at 71 Stolp (numbers 77-81 after 1929) on the northwest corner of Stolp and Holbrook Street (now West Benton Street). One wag has called it the “Mayan Ruins” because of the architectural motif on the building. It had its own dining room on the ground floor and sleeping rooms on the upper floors for retired members of the Elks Club. Sadly, the Elks HQ vacated the building, and it remained vacant for many years. Briefly, it housed the Aurora Election Commission and is now a hotel for the general public.
Other notable addresses:
10, Mt. Olivet Cemetery Association, 1920-1926.
53 (#65 after 1929) – the Aurora Diner, 1926-1964 (more on this in a future essay).
Numbers 71-73, Aurora Chamber of Commerce, 1928-1939 (moved to a new location).
70, U.S. Office of Price Administration (a World War II agency), 1942-1945.
70, Roosevelt Aurora Post 84, Veterans of Foreign Wars, 1945 to 1952 (moved to a new location).
71, U.S. Collection of Internal Revenue, 1945-1957.
61, Watson’s Music House, 1952-1966 (moved to a new location).
Continued at thevoice.us/aurora-hotel-and-leland-tower-start-early-days-on-stolp