The Grand Army of the Republic Hall is an historic building located at 23 East Downer Place 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 ...

in Aurora,

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 ...

, in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

History

The Soldier's Monument Association formed in Aurora in 1869 with the intent of raising funds to construct a monument to veterans of the

U.S. Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...

. The group was very successful, and secretary Fred O. White proposed that a building should be erected in honor of the soldiers instead. White was inspired by a recent visit to

Memorial Hall A memorial hall is a hall built to commemorate an individual or group; most commonly those who have died in war. Most are intended for public use and are sometimes described as ''utilitarian memorials''. History of the Memorial Hall In the aft ...

Foxborough Foxborough is a town in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States, about southwest of Boston, northeast of Providence, Rhode Island and about northwest of Cape Cod. Foxborough is part of the Greater Boston area. The population was 18,618 a ...

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett language, Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut assachusett writing systems, məhswatʃəwiːsət'' English: , ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is the most populous U.S. state, state in the New England ...

, and noted that that structure was a useful meeting place and

library A library is a collection of materials, books or media that are accessible for use and not just for display purposes. A library provides physical (hard copies) or digital access (soft copies) materials, and may be a physical location or a vir ...

. The Aurora building was intended to be almost identical to the Foxborough building, though the builders decided not to replicate the granite roof and stained glass. Joseph Mulvey was hired to design the building; no other Mulvey-designed structures have yet been identified. The building was constructed on Stolp Island, a small piece of land considered to be "neutral territory" between the east and west sides of Aurora. Stolp Island was a popular spot for public buildings due to increasingly strained relations between the two sides of the river. The GAR Hall was the only public library in Aurora until a Carnegie library opened across the street in 1903. The hall was the meeting place of the Aurora G.A.R. Post No. 20, which was one of 779 posts in the Department of Illinois.Library of Congress list of GAR posts by state
/ref> Any honorably discharged Union veteran of the war could join the group. The group was formally recognized until the death of its last member, Daniel Augustus Wedge, in 1947. The Grand Army of the Republic Hall was slated for demolition in the 1960s. Public outcry forced the city to change its plans, and a 1963 fundraising campaign provided financial support to rehabilitate the building. 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 1984 and was part of the Stolp Island Historic District when it was separately listed in 1986. Renovations were partially completed in 2016, and the hall was opened to the public as "The Grand Army of the Republic Memorial Museum." The G.A.R. Memorial Museum is open every Saturday afternoon, Noon to 4 p.m. The octagonally-shaped building was built with locally quarried limestone. The standing

Gothic Revival Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic, neo-Gothic, or Gothick) is an architectural movement that began in the late 1740s in England. The movement gained momentum and expanded in the first half of the 19th century, as increasingly ...

structure is one and a half stories and features a small lot outside of the building with an 1851 cannon, a bench, and a flagpole. An addition was constructed in 1884 on the south wing, but was demolished during the 1963 restoration.

References

National Register of Historic Places Registration Form: GAR Memorial Hall

External links

{{authority control Cultural infrastructure completed in 1877

Buildings and structures in Aurora, Illinois Museums in Kane County, Illinois Art museums and galleries in Illinois National Register of Historic Places in Kane County, Illinois Tourist attractions in Aurora, Illinois Clubhouses on the National Register of Historic Places in Illinois Individually listed contributing properties to historic districts on the National Register in Illinois Illinois in the American Civil War 1877 establishments in Illinois Buildings and structures completed in 1877

History

See also

References

External links