{"nrhp_refnum":"04001300","name":"Hotel Arthur","other_names":["Traction Terminal Building"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"2-4 N. Broadway","address_restricted":false,"city":"Aurora","county":"Kane County","state":"IL","lat":41.75923732800004,"lon":-88.31323230499999,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"2005-03-15","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Commerce","Transportation"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A six-story brick and Bedford limestone hotel building at 2-4 North Broadway in downtown Aurora, Kane County, Illinois, built in 1905 in the Second Renaissance Revival style and designed by Eugene Malmer for John Knell, Sr.","why_significant":"The building is locally significant under Criterion A for its ties to Aurora's commercial and transportation history. It first served as a premier hotel, then from 1915 to 1935 as the traction terminal station and main offices of the Aurora, Elgin, and Chicago Railroad. It later held retail space, a restaurant and professional offices, reflecting downtown Aurora's role as a regional commercial center.","narrative":"Rising six stories at the corner of Broadway Avenue and Galena Boulevard, this brick and Bedford limestone building was completed in 1905 as the Hotel Arthur and was once the tallest building in Aurora. Eugene Malmer designed it in the Second Renaissance Revival style for John Knell, Sr., a German-born beer wholesaler, who named the hotel for his brother. Early newspaper accounts praised it as one of northern Illinois's finest hotels, with steam heat and telephones. Rear additions were soon needed to provide more space. In 1915 the Aurora, Elgin, and Chicago Railroad leased the building as its traction terminal station and main offices, a use that lasted until 1935. A 1937 remodel gave the ground floor a retail storefront, and it later became a restaurant, while professional offices filled the upper floors. The upper stories have stood vacant since the late 1960s but keep much original woodwork, a marble staircase and a caged elevator. The building reflects Aurora's growth as a rail-driven commercial center.","period_of_significance":"1905-1954 (Commerce); 1915-1935 (Transportation)","architect_builder":"Malmer, Eugene","architectural_style":"Renaissance (Second Renaissance Revival)","criteria":["A"],"status_note":"Listed as vacant/not in use; the upper floors have been vacant since the late 1960s, and the ground-floor restaurant interior has remained unchanged since the 1960s. Some plaster walls and the windows need repair.","vacant_flag":true,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:55:37.318529-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/8/8932/28893208/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_IL/04001300.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/04001300/9071d58d7f-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/04001300/9071d58d7f-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 2.0","author":"Teemu008 from Palatine, Illinois","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Hotel_Arthur_(10716124626).jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Teemu008 from Palatine, Illinois</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 2.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Hotel_Arthur_(10716124626).jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/28893208","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hotel_Arthur","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q5911200"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/illinois/kane-county/hotel-arthur-04001300/"}