{"nrhp_refnum":"84001130","name":"GAR Memorial Building","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"23 E. Downer Pl.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Aurora","county":"Kane County","state":"IL","lat":41.75666855000003,"lon":-88.31575398699994,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1984-08-23","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture","Social History"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A one-and-a-half-story Gothic Revival limestone memorial building at 23 East Downer Place on Stolp Island in downtown Aurora, Illinois, built in 1877 as a Civil War memorial, library and Grand Army of the Republic meeting hall.","why_significant":"It is one of Aurora's most widely recognized landmarks and the sole survivor of a group of nineteenth century civic buildings that included City Hall and the Post Office. Its compact octagonal design, prominent location and ties to Civil War veterans and the city's civic life qualify it. It was saved from demolition in the 1960s after public protest.","narrative":"Standing on Stolp Island in downtown Aurora, this octagonal limestone building at 23 East Downer Place was erected in 1877 as a Civil War memorial. Designed by architect Joseph Mulvey in the Gothic Revival style, it has projecting gable wings, clasping buttresses, pointed arched windows and a cupola topped by an eight-foot bronze infantry soldier. Fundraiser Fred O. White persuaded Aurora to build a useful building rather than a monument, modeled on a memorial hall in Foxboro, Massachusetts. It served as a public library from 1881 until 1903 and as home to Aurora Post No. 20 of the Grand Army of the Republic, which lasted until its last member died in 1947. A 1903 stair tower was added, while an 1884 addition was removed in 1964. In the early 1960s the city demolished its neighboring City Hall and Post Office, but public outcry saved this building. It remains Aurora's sole surviving building from that group of civic structures.","period_of_significance":"1800-1899","architect_builder":"Joseph Mulvey (architect); L.H. Waterhouse & Son (masonry) and C.B. Colwell (carpentry) contractors","architectural_style":"Gothic Revival","criteria":[],"status_note":"Owned by the City of Aurora and occupied as a museum; described as in fair condition and in need of repairs and restoration, though its basic integrity has survived.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:55:35.413795-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/84/8931/28893184/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_IL/84001130.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/84001130/67acddfda3-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/84001130/67acddfda3-1600.webp","licence":"Public domain","author":"User: (WT-shared) Ethajek at wts wikivoyage","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:GARHall.JPG\" rel=\"noopener\">User: (WT-shared) Ethajek at wts wikivoyage</a>, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:GARHall.JPG"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/28893184","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grand_Army_of_the_Republic_Hall_(Aurora,_Illinois)","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q5594252"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/illinois/kane-county/gar-memorial-building-84001130/"}