Oak Park in Cook County, Illinois — The American Midwest (Great Lakes)

Niles Building

Photographed by Sean P. Flynn, December 18, 2024

1. Niles Building Marker

Inscription. Listed in the National Registry of Historic Places
Erected 1891
Restored 1992 by The Lou Fabbri Group in cooperation with Village of Oak Park • Oak Park Development Corporation • State of Illinois • National Park Service

Erected 1992.

Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in this topic list: Architecture. In addition, it is included in the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) series list. A significant historical year for this entry is 1891.

Location. 41° 53.188′ N, 87° 48.16′ W. Marker is in Oak Park, Illinois, in Cook County. It is on Marion Street south of South Boulevard, on the right when traveling south. The marker is on the south edge of the building, next to the Kettlestrings Grove cocktail bar. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 1101 South Boulevard, Oak Park IL 60302, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in Greater Chicago.

It is also in the American Midwest

and on the Great Lakes.

Globally, it is in North America,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what

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was once the Viceroyalty of New France,

the territory of the Mississippian Culture,

and the Northwest Territory.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: Oak Park Station (about 300 feet away, measured in a direct line); Mills Park and Pleasant Home (about 500 feet away); Mount Carmel Baptist Church (about 600 feet away); Henrietta Lacks (about 600 feet away); Fibonacci (about 700 feet away); a different marker also named Mills Park and Pleasant Home (about 700 feet away); The Age of Mammals (about 700 feet away); Illinois Tulley Monster (about 700 feet away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Oak Park.

Regarding Niles Building. The building is named for its original owner, Sidney Solomon Niles, whose family was one of the first to settle in Oak Park. Milton and Mary Niles came in 1859 from Upstate New York to settle in what was then called Oak Ridge. According to Sidney's obituary, he attended school at the Oak Park Temperance Hall and later Central School, Oak Park's first full-fledged school. He graduated from the University of Chicago in 1875 and would later partner

Photographed by Sean P. Flynn, December 18, 2024

2. Niles Building Marker

The elevated train track can be seen a short distance north of here. The CTA Green Line, the Union Pacific-West Metra commuter train line and the Union Pacific freight tracks travel east-west through Oak Park.

with his father at the Chicago Hardware Company. The Queen Anne-style Niles Building was designed by William J. Van Keuren and opened in 1891 next to the railway. According to a 1993 Chicago Tribune article, the building was threatened with demolition in the early 1990s but was renovated and preserved with stores at ground level and apartments on the upper floors. Today the building houses a jewelry store, a pizza restaurant and a cocktail bar.

Although the plaque says the building is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, it appears that its inclusion on the NRHP is actually as a contributing structure within the Ridgeland-Oak Park Historic District, which covers a wide swath of central Oak Park from its border with Chicago on the east to its border with Forest Park on the west.

Also see . . .
1. Building with a history escapes the wrecking ball. An article in the Chicago Tribune from January 31, 1993, reports on the preservation and restoration of the Niles Building in Oak Park. (Submitted on December 18, 2024, by Sean P. Flynn of Oak Park, Illinois.)

2. Ridgeland-Oak Park Historic District NRHP Nomination Form.

Niles Building image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Sean P. Flynn, December 18, 2024

3. Niles Building

The form was submitted on December 8, 1983.

Excerpt: "William J. Van Keuren’s S. S. Niles Building (1890-1894), designed for a bank and stores below and offices and flats above, adopted restrained Romanesque motifs and juxtaposed brick with heavy stone lintels and carved stone ornament."

(Submitted on December 18, 2024, by Sean P. Flynn of Oak Park, Illinois.)

3. Sidney Solomon Niles. Find A Grave website entry (Submitted on December 18, 2024, by Sean P. Flynn of Oak Park, Illinois.)

Sidney Solomon Niles (1854-1934) image. Click for full size.

Courtesy of University of Chicago Library, circa 1875

4. Sidney Solomon Niles (1854-1934)

Niles graduated from the University of Chicago in 1875.

Credits. This page was last revised on February 24, 2025. It was originally submitted on December 18, 2024, by Sean P. Flynn of Oak Park, Illinois. This page has been viewed 351 times since then and 21 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3, 4. submitted on December 18, 2024, by Sean P. Flynn of Oak Park, Illinois.