Aurora Hotel Leland Hotel
Downtown Heritage Tour
The Aurora Hotel was the City's first large hotel, and for many years, its tallest building. It was erected in 1917 on the site of a mill race and swimming hole. The Georgian style, fireproof building was designed by H. Ziegler Dietz and constructed of reinforced concrete, 5,000 barrels of cement, and 150,000 bricks. The cornice is sheet metal.
The Aurora Hotel features a two-story dining area cantilevered over the Fox River. Both building entrances are capped with double-cut limestone balconies and stone balustrades. Both the Aurora and Leland Hotels were owned by the Gosselin family from 1937 until the late 1970s.
The 22-story Aurora-Leland Hotel (Leland Tower) was built at a cost of $3.1 million from a design by Anker Sveere Graven and Arthur Guy Mayger. When erected in 1928, it was the tallest building in Illinois outside of Chicago. This "modern adaptation of the Italian Romanesque style" incorporated terra cotta details and animal sculptures. All 206 hotel rooms featured private baths and telephones. The Leland housed radio station WMRO, the Sky Club, and the Rathskeller Bar and Grill. The Sky Club was a restaurant and dance club, located on the top floor of the building; it remained a social hub in Aurora through the 1960s.
This photo of the Aurora Hotel [on left side of marker] was taken sometime between 1926-1929.
this page online
This photo [on the right side of the marker] shows the Leland Hotel under construction in 1927. It opened as the Hotel Leland in 1928. The building immediately to the south was the Loyal Order of Moose, Aurora Lodge #400 building; it later became the Isle Theatre, and was demolished in the late 1980s.
Photo Courtesy of the Aurora Historical Society
The Aurora Hotel
has been placed on the
National Register
of Historic Places
by the United States
Department of the Interior
1917
———————————
Originally constructed 1917
as the
Aurora Hotel
Architect: H. Ziegler Dietz
Reconstructed 1998
as the
North Island Apartments
Developers: Harold D. Rider and Brad Mathes
Architect: Carl R. Klimek & Associates
Topics. This historical marker is listed in this topic list: Notable Buildings. A significant historical year for this entry is 1917.
Location. 41° 45.498′ N, 88° 18.897′ W. Marker
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 was once the territory of the Mississippian Culture and also the Northwest Territory.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: Block & Kuhl Store (a few steps from this marker); Leland Hotel (within shouting distance of this marker); Millennium Plaza (within shouting distance of this marker); Paramount Theatre (within shouting distance of this marker); The Illiniwek and The Illinois Country (about 300 feet away, measured in a direct line); Millennium Tower (about 300 feet away); Graham Building (about 400 feet away); Memorial Bridge (about 400 feet away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Aurora.
Also see . . .
1. Stolp Island National Register Historic District. Aurora Illinois website entry (Submitted on April 26, 2016, by William Fischer, Jr. of Reynoldsburg, Ohio.)
2. Leland Tower. Wikipedia entry (Submitted on April 26, 2016, by William Fischer, Jr. of Reynoldsburg, Ohio.)
3. Hotel Aurora. Wikipedia entry (Submitted on April 26, 2016, by William Fischer, Jr. of Reynoldsburg, Ohio.)
Credits. This page was last revised on January 13, 2024. It was originally submitted on April 26, 2016, by William Fischer, Jr. of Reynoldsburg, Ohio. This page has been viewed 2,371 times since then and 104 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6. submitted on April 26, 2016, by William Fischer, Jr. of Reynoldsburg, Ohio.
