By Ricky Rieckert
Dear faithful subscribers, readers, and all.
This week, the Aurora History Tour Bus, is at the northwest corner of Benton Street and Stolp Avenue, (originally known as Island Avenue).
This building, was home to the Aurora Elks Club. It was a beautiful two-story brick building.
When I was in my early 20s, every year, they had a men’s stag there, the Wednesday before Thanksgiving.
They had some show girls, cards, dice, and several raffles, along with food and beer.
I never cared to go, and never did, although it felt like half of Aurora did.
My opportunity to go in the building, came years later, when my company was called for a job in the basement.
I went there for the job, an Elk board member was with me. We talked about the history of the Elks Club and after I finished, he gave me a tour of the building.
The first and second floors were carbon copies of each other. Each floor had a bar, a banquet room, and a kitchen, in the first half of the building from the front, (east-side) to the middle of the building.
The second half, was housing, with a hallway down the center, to the west and towards the River, with housing to the left and the right.
The board member told me, that if you were an Elks member, and going through rough times, you and your family could stay until you got back on your feet.
When the building was vacated by the Elks Club, years later, the Aurora Police, used the housing part of the building, on both floors, for practicing situations. The police shot up the building pretty bad and it needed desperate repairs.
Today, it’s been redone in the inside and is apartments or condos.
I delivered a pizza there a couple of years ago, while working at Sarpino’s Pizza. I went up the elevator to the second floor, to a woman’s unit. I told her how nice the hallways and were, and she invited me inside the to see how nice it was.
The City has a sprinkler/shower spray unit, made of stone, outside of the building, on the south side, which is turned on during the summer.
The City of Aurora paid $40,000, to have it moved to Aurora, from another country. I have no idea of why they paid for unit, because it only has some usage during the summer.
I think it was a bad idea at the taxpayers expense. Let Naperville buy it from us.
We need more important functional thing’s in “A” Town, than wasting our money away for decor, like that.
As we move west, past the Old Library on the south side, is the former Post Office. I remember that it was a beautiful building, inside and out. Years later, they moved to N. Broadway.
It then became the Sci-Tech building and closed in 2022.
I would love to see the City own the building and let the service clubs, use the building for meetings and fundraisers.
Two of those such club’s are in “The Voice” every week: The Aurora Lions Club and The Diabetes Club of Fox Valley, each helping our community all the time.
The Lion’s Club with their support of vision and local donations and the Diabetes Club with their constant research of Diabetes and local donations.
I belong to both of these service organizations, going to meetings and working at functions, and events to help.
There is also The Kiwanis Club and The Rotary Club.
See you next week. Enjoy the warmer weather.
I will be finishing W. Benton Street, next week.