{"nrhp_refnum":"78001155","name":"Copley, Col. Ira C., Mansion","other_names":["Aurora Performing Arts Center"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"434 W. Downer Pl.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Aurora","county":"Kane County","state":"IL","lat":41.75909313500006,"lon":-88.32422394899999,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1978-03-29","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Community Planning and Development","Architecture","Communications"],"significance_levels":["state"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A three-story, L-shaped brick mansion at 434 West Downer Place in Aurora, Kane County, Illinois, designed by architect Jarvis Hunt and dated 1906-1917 as the residence of Col. Ira C. Copley.","why_significant":"The nomination presents the house as a prime example of early twentieth century Neo-Classical Revival design highlighting the Federal style, with eclectic touches that keep it from being a literal copy. It is also tied to Copley's careers in the utilities industry, Republican politics and as founder of the Copley Press newspaper chain.","narrative":"Built between 1906 and 1917 to designs by architect Jarvis Hunt, this three-story, L-shaped mansion on West Downer Place in Aurora, Illinois, was the home and social center of Col. Ira C. Copley. Its Roman brick walls are laid in Flemish bond with glazed headers, and a semi-circular Ionic portico rises the full height of the facade. The entrance has slender pilasters, sidelights and an elliptical fanlight, while the interior features a Georgian open-string staircase and Adamesque ceiling and fireplace ornament in carved wood and molded plaster. The design is described as Neo-Classical Revival drawing on the Federal style, with Italian Renaissance and Beaux-Arts touches. Copley built a career in gas and electric utilities, served in the U.S. House of Representatives, and later developed daily newspapers in the Midwest and Southern California. The house later served as offices for the Copley Press, then as a law office and performing arts school, with the exterior largely intact.","period_of_significance":"1906-1917","architect_builder":"Jarvis Hunt","architectural_style":"Neo-Classical Revival highlighting the Federal style","criteria":[],"status_note":"Occupied; the form lists its present use as educational, private residence and law office, and says the exterior has stayed relatively unchanged after 60 years while the interior was altered for offices, an apartment and a dance school.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:55:35.648783-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/86/8931/28893186/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_IL/78001155.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/78001155/db310a3387-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/78001155/db310a3387-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Teemu08","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Col._Ira_C._Copley_Mansion.JPG\" rel=\"noopener\">Teemu08</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 3.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Col._Ira_C._Copley_Mansion.JPG"},"district":{"nrhp_refnum":"86001484","name":"West Side Historic District","url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/districts/illinois/west-side-historic-district-86001484/"},"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/28893186","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Col._Ira_C._Copley_Mansion","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q5141766"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/illinois/kane-county/copley-col-ira-c-mansion-78001155/"}