The Keystone Building in

Aurora, Illinois Aurora is a city in northeastern Illinois, United States. It is located along the Fox River (Illinois River tributary), Fox River west of Chicago. It is the List of municipalities in Illinois, second-most populous city in Illinois, with a popul ...

is a building from 1922. It was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

in 1980. The structure is one of two buildings on Stolp Island designed by

George Grant Elmslie George Grant Elmslie (February 20, 1869 – April 23, 1952) was an American Prairie School architect whose works are is mostly found in the Midwestern United States. He worked with Louis Sullivan and later with William Gray Purcell as a partne ...

, the other one being the Graham Building. In addition, there are three other buildings within Aurora that share the same architect, (the Old Second National Bank, the Healy Chapel, and the German-American Bank) making Aurora, Illinois the biggest collection of Elmslie's commercial buildings.

History

The Keystone Building is the largest private office building designed by

. It also may be the largest office building designed in the

Prairie Style Prairie School is a late 19th and early 20th-century architectural style, most common in the Midwestern United States. The style is usually marked by horizontal lines, flat or hipped roofs with broad overhanging eaves, windows grouped i ...

. It was planned as the Joseph George & Newhall Building in 1922. The Aurora Silverplate Company had previously occupied the building, but moved out onto another lot. Their old building was partially demolished and Elmslie was tasked with incorporating part of it into a new building. It was Elmslie's first commission since he split from his business partner William G. Purcell. L. A. Fournier, who had worked with Purcell & Elmslie, was listed as an associate architect. The building was recognized by the

National Park Service The National Park Service (NPS) is an List of federal agencies in the United States, agency of the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government, within the US Department of the Interior. The service manages all List ...

on its

on March 18, 1980. Furthermore, it is a contributing property to the Stolp Island Historic District, listed on September 10, 1986.

Architecture

The Keystone Building is found on Stolp Island in

Aurora An aurora ( aurorae or auroras), also commonly known as the northern lights (aurora borealis) or southern lights (aurora australis), is a natural light display in Earth's sky, predominantly observed in high-latitude regions (around the Arc ...

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...

. The four-story building features a ground floor dedicated to individual shops, each with a private entryway. The main (west) facade stretched on Stolp Avenue. It is irregularly shaped on its rear facade, as it is on a triangular lot. The north facade is long and the south is only long. The entry to the main building is found under a patterned terra cotta screen. There are five major bays on the first floor: three north of the entry and two south. The bays are separated by brick piers, as is the entryway. The upper three floors have identical exteriors with double hung windows between brick piers. An ornamental terra cotta

cornice In architecture, a cornice (from the Italian ''cornice'' meaning "ledge") is generally any horizontal decorative Moulding (decorative), moulding that crowns a building or furniture element—for example, the cornice over a door or window, ar ...

caps the building on the main facade. The building is built with brown glazed brick with flecks of iron, which provides some blue and green bits. A terra cotta belt course is found above the first floor. Each of the six piers on the main facade features a decorative terra cotta

shield A shield is a piece of personal armour held in the hand, which may or may not be strapped to the wrist or forearm. Shields are used to intercept specific attacks, whether from close-ranged weaponry like spears or long ranged projectiles suc ...

. There are additional shields decorating the cornice. Eight bronze and glass light fixtures above the first floor provide external illumination. Inside the main entrance leads to a lobby with an elevator and staircase. The three upper floors are divided into office suites off of a main corridor. Each floor features a central lobby with access to elevator and stair. A skylight is found above the fourth floor lobby. The floors are polished

terrazzo Terrazzo is a composite material, poured in place or precast, which is used for floor and wall treatments. It consists of chips of marble, quartz, granite, glass, or other suitable material, poured with a cementitious binder (for chemical bind ...

. The remains of the previous building are found in the northeastern quadrant.

References

{{National Register of Historic Places Commercial buildings on the National Register of Historic Places in Illinois National Register of Historic Places in Kane County, Illinois Prairie School architecture in Illinois Commercial buildings completed in 1922 Buildings and structures in Aurora, Illinois Historic district contributing properties in Illinois George Grant Elmslie buildings