The West Chicago City Museum, originally the Turner Town Hall, is a museum in

West Chicago West Chicago is a city in DuPage County, Illinois, United States. The population was 27,086 at the 2010 census. It was formerly named Junction and later Turner, after its founder, John B. Turner, president of the Galena and Chicago Union Railroad ...

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...

History

Turner Town Hall originally functioned as the first Village Hall of West Chicago, providing police and fire control services to the community. West Chicago was originally known as Junction, as three railroads crossed through it. The

Galena and Chicago Union Railroad The Galena and Chicago Union Railroad (G&CU) was a railroad running west from Chicago to Freeport, Illinois, never reaching Galena, Illinois. A later route went to Clinton, Iowa. Incorporated in 1836, the G&CU became the first railroad built out ...

erected the first railway station in the town in 1849, and in five years' time, the town was an important railway maintenance stop. Working on steam engines and railway cars at the time induced a great fire hazard, but there was no city services to fight the blazes. All fire control was ineffectively provided by private companies. In 1883, the village, now known as Turner, approved the construction of a Town Hall. Aside from its town safety functions, the hall also provided a meeting place for citizens of the village and hosted a local museum. Fire protection was officially added in 1888. The town hall maintained its functions until 1976 when it was re-designated the West Chicago City Museum. It was added to the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

in 1991.Illinois Historic Preservation Agency
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Architecture

The two-story building is in the middle of a commercial block, though it was originally detached. It was built with a cream colored brick on a limestone foundation. The main facade faces northeast toward Main Street. This facade is asymmetrical due to its Italianate tower. The tower, which projects slightly from the facade, has a secondary entrance and a single round top window. The tower originally had a metal pyramidal roof, but this has since been removed. The main entrance on the body of the building was replaced in 1942 when barn doors (used by the fire station) were replaced with a set of Federal Style doors and windows. Three round top windows are found on the second floor.

References

External links

* {{official website, http://westchicago.org/residents/history-architecture-art/west-chicago-city-museum/
Friends of the West Chicago City Museum
National Register of Historic Places in DuPage County, Illinois West Chicago, Illinois Museums in DuPage County, Illinois History museums in Illinois Government buildings on the National Register of Historic Places in Illinois