The Aurora Elks Lodge No. 705 is a Mayan style building on

Stolp Island Stolp Island is a small island in the Fox River (Illinois River tributary), Fox River in Aurora, Illinois. In 1986 the island and its 41 buildings were added to the National Register of Historic Places as the Stolp Island Historic District. It ...

Aurora, Illinois Aurora is a city in the Chicago metropolitan area located partially in DuPage County, Illinois, DuPage, Kane County, Illinois, Kane, Kendall County, Illinois, Kendall, and Will County, Illinois, Will counties in the U.S. state of Illinois. Locat ...

. It is included in the

Stolp Island Historic District Stolp Island is a small island in the Fox River in Aurora, Illinois. In 1986 the island and its 41 buildings were added to the National Register of Historic Places as the Stolp Island Historic District. It covers of land area. Stolp Island ...

. The building was built in 1926 and was listed on 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 1980.

History

The

Aurora An aurora (plural: auroras or aurorae), also commonly known as the polar lights, is a natural light display in Earth's sky, predominantly seen in high-latitude regions (around the Arctic and Antarctic). Auroras display dynamic patterns of bri ...

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 ...

building for the

Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks The Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks (BPOE; also often known as the Elks Lodge or simply The Elks) is an American fraternal order founded in 1868, originally as a social club in New York City. History The Elks began in 1868 as a soci ...

was built in 1926 by Chicago architectural firm Zimmerman, Saxe & Zimmerman. The building's designs were heavily influenced by the archaeological discoveries being widely reported in the 1920s in

Mesoamerica Mesoamerica is a historical region and cultural area in southern North America and most of Central America. It extends from approximately central Mexico through Belize, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, and northern Costa Rica. W ...

. According to members of the lodge, William Carbys Zimmerman spent some time at some of the Late Classic Mayan sites to gather influence for his designs. Specifically, Carbys' designs reflect the Late Classic and early Postclassic Eras. Details include Mayan deities, symbols, and architectural placements. The building is a rare example of a Mayan motif applied to a

Prairie School 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 in ...

design. It is uncertain why this type of design was chosen, as Mayan symbols do not have any special significance in the Elks community.Illinois Historic Preservation Agency
/ref> This property was purchased in January 2015 by Karademas Management, who will be developing it into residential property consisting of 29 upscale units scheduled to open in the summer of 2015. Plans for a first floor restaurant are also in the works.

Architecture

The building consists of two rectangular sections, one that is three stories tall and one that is four stories. The steel-framed, concrete reinforced structure has a flat roof. The main exterior facade, on the south and east, features horizontal bands of twisted red-brown brick and beige terra-cotta with Mayan glyphs. The three-story section was used as the main lobby, dining rooms, meeting rooms, club offices, ballroom, bars, and lounge. The four-story section was the main dining room and also housed the kitchen, a bar, forty-six rooms for traveling members, and a basement bowling alley.

References

Clubhouses on the National Register of Historic Places in Illinois National Register of Historic Places in Kane County, Illinois Prairie School architecture in Illinois Buildings and structures completed in 1926 Buildings and structures in Aurora, Illinois Elks buildings Historic district contributing properties in Illinois {{KaneCountyIL-NRHP-stub