Randecker's Hardware Store facts for kids
Quick facts for kids |
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Randecker's Hardware Store
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 Location in Illinois
Location in the United States
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| Location | 112 S. Bloomingdale Rd. Bloomingdale, DuPage County, Illinois, U.S. |
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| Built | 1908–09 |
| Architectural style | Commercial style |
| NRHP reference No. | 94001265 |
| Added to NRHP | October 28, 1994 |
Randecker's Hardware Store is a historic building in Bloomingdale, DuPage County, Illinois. It was built in a style called Commercial style, which was popular for stores and businesses. This building has a long and interesting history, serving the community for many years.
Contents
A Look Back: The Store's History
The Randecker's Hardware Store building was constructed between 1908 and 1909. It was built to sell important items to local farmers and people living nearby.
William Randecker's Vision
William Randecker opened the store. He had been in the paint business but decided to start something new. William Randecker was a very important person in Bloomingdale Township. He worked as the township clerk for 20 years. He also served as the township collector for five more years. This meant he helped manage local government records and money.
A Family Business Grows
In the early 1900s, people needed new things like electrical and plumbing equipment. This helped the Randecker family store become very successful. When Bloomingdale became an official village in 1923, Randecker's was one of only 13 businesses there.
Changes Over the Years
William Randecker passed away in 1946. His nephew, George Bender, took over the store. George renamed it Bender's Hardware. For a few years, from 1955 to 1960, the local post office even shared the building!
After George Bender died in 1976, the Mazzarella family bought the property. They changed the store into an antique shop. It still sold a few hardware items, but mostly old treasures. On October 28, 1994, the building was added to the National Register of Historic Places. This means it's recognized as an important historical site. Today, the building is used as an insurance office.
Building Design: What It Looks Like
Randecker's Hardware Store is a 1 and a half-story building. It stands on the southwest corner of Bloomingdale Road and Franklin Street. The building is painted white, and the frames around its windows are dark green. The main front of the building faces east toward Bloomingdale Road.
Structure and Roof
The building is made of wood and measures about 24 feet wide and 54 feet long. It sits on a strong foundation made of stone and concrete blocks. The roof has a special shape called a gambrel roof, which has two different slopes on each side. It is covered with asphalt shingles.
Front Entrance Details
Five steps lead up to a porch that stretches across the front of the building. This porch was originally made of wood but is now concrete. The main entrance has double doors. Each door has a large glass pane, about 4 feet tall. On either side of the doors are big show windows, perfect for displaying items.
Above these large show windows are pairs of smaller, rectangular windows. These smaller windows are located just below a wooden cornice, which is a decorative molding along the top of the wall. On the attic floor, facing east, there are three windows that open up and down. Just below these attic windows, you can see a sign that says "Olde Towne HARDWARE."
