By Ricky Rieckert
Dear readers, this week we’ll start on the northwest corner of S. Broadway and North Avenue in Aurora.
Today, the corner is a Citgo gas station and mini-mart. Before that, it was a Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC).
KFC had two locations in Aurora, S. Broadway and N. Lake Street, the next business north of Arby’s. It later moved across from Northgate.
The KFC on S. Broadway was the top store in the Fox Valley Area and district, for some years, for total sales.
Now for some exciting history of the area behind, the West Side of the corner.
Historical records indicate the presence of a stone quarry on S. Broadway, in Aurora, on the north side of North Avenue, and west, behind the building on S. Broadway.
It was going down the hill towards the north block section of Rosewood Avenue, before the railroad tracks to the west, and to the north, between S. Broadway, and the tracks.
In the late 1970s, I saw a picture of the quarry, in the late 1800s, in Mike Baum’s Real Estate office on N. Lake Street. My guess, from the picture, is that it was a good acre or so.
Albert Jenks purchased the quarry from the U.S. government in 1836 and sold it to Reverend Clark in the 1840s.
Clarence Riddle, owner of the Aurora Stone Quarry on S. Broadway, constructed the Riddle House (circa 1894), which features a unique checkerboard limestone foundation, likely sourced from his quarry.
Rev. Clark utilized the stone from the quarry to build his seminary, on the corner of S. Broadway and North Avenue.
The stone quarry on S. Broadway played a role in the early development of Aurora, providing materials for construction and being associated with local figures such as Clarence Riddle.
I believe that they filled the quarry in the late 1940s or early 1950s, because of the Polio scare. All outdoor swimming pools in Aurora were closed, with the YMCA, being the only one to remain open.
Today, there are no remnants left of the quarry.
At the Rosewood Avenue, north extension, there was an automotive shop, when I was growing up. I believe that section didn’t exist when the quarry existed, and today it’s no longer on the map.
On the south side of North Avenue, on Rosewood Avenue, at the corner is the Octagon House. The rare eight-sided architectural style house, at 83 North Avenue, was built between 1867 and 1882. It’s the only octagon house in Aurora.
Rosewood Avenue runs south from North Avenue to Bluff Street. When I was a teenager, I told my dad that Rosewood was the longest block in Aurora. He said it runs almost a block north of North Avenue.
I was in a lot of the houses, both on the east side and west side, through the years.
Next week, I will finish-up with North Avenue history. I still have more to write about.
Have a great week.