{"nrhp_refnum":"79003160","name":"Brower, Adolphus W., House","other_names":["George F. Beasley House"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"705 DeKalb Ave.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Sycamore","county":"DeKalb County","state":"IL","lat":41.98642421900007,"lon":-88.69397880499997,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1979-02-14","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A frame Italianate residence at 705 DeKalb Avenue in Sycamore, DeKalb County, Illinois, built in 1874 for lumber and hardware businessman Adolphus W. Brower.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the house is a vernacular interpretation of the elaborate 'High Victorian Italianate' style of the 1870s, with a profusely ornamented facade and very few alterations. It stands on its original site, and a 1973 state survey cited it as one of the half dozen or so finest Italianate residences in Sycamore.","narrative":"Built in 1874 at 705 DeKalb Avenue in Sycamore, Illinois, this frame house was commissioned by Adolphus W. Brower, a Wisconsin-born businessman who arrived in town in 1872, worked in the lumber trade with Marshall Stark, and later bought into a hardware firm. The house is rectangular, with a low hipped roof, carved paired brackets, arched double-hung windows, a four-bay porch, and a rear wing with a mansard roof and dormers. Inside, plaster ceiling decoration, marble and cast iron fireplaces, original woodwork, a parquet floor and a curved stairway survive. The house stayed with Brower descendants until 1968. It was later divided into apartments and a beauty shop, then bought in 1974 for restoration. It has no additions and few alterations. A 1973 state survey ranked it among the finest Italianate homes in Sycamore, and it is listed as a vernacular variation of that style.","period_of_significance":"1874","architect_builder":null,"architectural_style":"Italianate (vernacular interpretation of High Victorian Italianate)","criteria":[],"status_note":"Occupied as a private residence in good condition; owners were restoring it after it had been divided into apartments and a beauty shop.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:55:34.967191-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/12/8927/28892712/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_IL/79003160.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/79003160/c705b9da34-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/79003160/c705b9da34-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY 2.5","author":"Andy McMurray","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Adolphus_W_Brower_House7.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Andy McMurray</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.5\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY 2.5</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Adolphus_W_Brower_House7.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/28892712","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adolphus_W._Brower_House","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q14687368"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/illinois/dekalb-county/brower-adolphus-w-house-79003160/"}