By Ricky Rieckert
Dear readers,
Just to expand on last week’s article, the original Luigi’s at 1431 E. New York Street, was run by Mrs. Duncan in 1953, as a sandwich and soup shop. Later that same year, pizza was added to the menu, because pizza was becoming a mainstream food in America. Luigi’s was the first pizza place in Aurora.
While working at the Blue Lantern, back in 1974, the guy I knew at Luigi’s, I called Luigi.
It was ironic, that in 1978-1979, I used to go to Luigi’s late after bar-hopping with Bob (Buffalo) Poss, Bill Poss’ younger brother, before Bill bought the restaurant in 1981.
I remember Bob calling the guy at Luigi’s, Guac, I guess short for guacamole. We had some great times back then. I also worked for Bill, the year he closed the restaurant on Prairie Street and played in the Fox Valley Dart League, when we played at our dart house at Luigi’s on W. Galena Boulevard.
This week, we’re back in the Aurora downtown with old buildings, that once were very attractive, useful, and beneficial to our City.
For starters, at the southeast corner of E. Galena Blvd. (Main St.) and Stolp Ave. (Island Ave.), 5 E. Galena, was the original Block and Kuhl Store, constructed in 1928 by the Aurora Development Company.
It became home to the Carson Pirie and Scott store in 1961.
After a major remodeling, the Waubonsee College Extension Center opened in 1986.
The original building had a beautiful architectural terracotta cladding, prism glass transoms above the storefronts, and it had Chicago style windows on the second and third floors, incorporating a fixed center glass, with two adjacent operable windows.
The Keystone building is one of two Stolp Island works by architect George Grant Elmslie, at 30 S. Stolp Avenue.
It is a relatively rare example of the Prairie School style used for an office building, and is listed individually on the National Register of Historic Places.
It originally had the subtle coloring of blue and gold in the organic terracotta detailing. This type of decorative motif was developed by Louis Sullivan, Elmslie’s former employer.
The United States Post Office at 18 W. Benton St. was built circa 1930. James Wetmore was the supervising architect, who managed a staff of nearly 1,700 architects and draftsmen who designed approximately 2,000 federal government buildings.
The former Post Office building is an arcaded (a series of arches supported by columns or piers) block building, featuring a series of evenly spaced, round arched window openings.
It is a commercial style that was popular during the 20th Century, and was derived from the great arcaded porches built in Italy during the Renaissance. The gargoyle waterspouts and decorative detailing are fashioned in terracotta.
The building was then occupied by SciTech Hands On Museum, an interactive science and technology center which had more than 200 hands-on exhibits. It operated for 34 years in Aurora, before closing in 2022.
Today, the building remains closed. I would only hope, that someone would occupy this beautiful building in the future. It is as beautiful inside as the outside.
Back as a kid, I would stop in the Post Office to look at the pictures of “The most wanted people”, that were on display on a wall inside.
In my next article I will focus on parking on Broadway, bicycle lanes, the old train station, and dams.
Have a great week!