{"nrhp_refnum":"82002543","name":"Graham Building","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"33 S. Stolp Ave.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Aurora","county":"Kane County","state":"IL","lat":41.75738892700008,"lon":-88.31576872299996,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1982-03-19","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture"],"significance_levels":["state"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"An eight-storey Prairie School commercial and office building at 33 South Stolp Avenue in Aurora, Kane County, Illinois, designed by George G. Elmslie and built in 1926 by William Graham.","why_significant":"The building is significant as an example of the work of George Grant Elmslie, a prominent student of Louis H. Sullivan. It is the tallest of Elmslie's five Aurora buildings and shows more ornamental restraint than the others. It was built for William Graham, a prominent local general contractor.","narrative":"Rising eight storeys at 33 South Stolp Avenue in Aurora, this steel-reinforced concrete office and commercial building was designed by George G. Elmslie and built in 1926 by contractor William Graham. Elmslie, a prominent student of Louis H. Sullivan, completed five buildings in Aurora, and this one was the next to last. It is the tallest of the five and shows more ornamental restraint than the others. Brick and terra-cotta string courses and sill details provide the ornament, concentrated on the Stolp Avenue and Fox River facades, which Elmslie treated as two matching fronts. Graham, who came to Aurora from Nova Scotia in the 1890s, served as owner and general contractor and kept the building until his death in the early 1950s. Alterations are limited mainly to the first-floor entrances, where aluminum and glass replaced original wood doors and windows. The building remains occupied by rental offices and shops, and its Elmslie design is the basis for its listing.","period_of_significance":"1900-","architect_builder":"William Graham, builder; George G. Elmslie, architect","architectural_style":"Prairie School Style","criteria":[],"status_note":"Listed as occupied, in excellent condition and used commercially; exterior altered only at the first-floor entrances, with interiors modernized over time.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:55:35.411451-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/30/8931/28893130/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_IL/82002543.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/82002543/985dc59858-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/82002543/985dc59858-1600.webp","licence":"CC0","author":"Smallbones","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Graham_Building_Aurora_IL.JPG\" rel=\"noopener\">Smallbones</a>, <a href=\"http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/deed.en\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Graham_Building_Aurora_IL.JPG"},"district":{"nrhp_refnum":"86001487","name":"Stolp Island Historic District","url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/districts/illinois/stolp-island-historic-district-86001487/"},"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/28893130","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Graham_Building_(Aurora,_Illinois)","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q5592693"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/illinois/kane-county/graham-building-82002543/"}