West Chicago City Museum facts for kids
Quick facts for kids |
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Turner Town Hall
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 Location in Illinois
Location in the United States
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| Location | 132 Main St. West Chicago, DuPage County, Illinois, U.S. |
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| Built | 1884 |
| Architectural style | Late Victorian & Italianate |
| NRHP reference No. | 91000573 |
| Added to NRHP | May 13, 1991 |
The West Chicago City Museum, originally known as the Turner Town Hall, is a museum located in West Chicago, Illinois. It has a long history, starting as an important building for the town's safety and community life.
Contents
History of Turner Town Hall
Early Days of West Chicago
The Turner Town Hall first served as the very first Village Hall for West Chicago. A Village Hall is like a main office for a town's local government. It helped provide important services such as police and fire protection for the community.
West Chicago was originally called Junction. This name came about because three different railroad lines crossed through the area. In 1849, the Galena and Chicago Union Railroad built the first train station there. Within just five years, the town became a very important stop for maintaining trains and steam engines.
A Need for Safety Services
Working on steam engines and railway cars back then was quite dangerous. It often led to big fires. However, the town did not have official services to fight these blazes. Private companies tried to help, but they were not very effective at putting out large fires.
In 1883, the people of the village, which was then known as Turner, decided to build a Town Hall. This new building was meant to help keep the town safe.
More Than Just a Hall
Besides its role in town safety, the Turner Town Hall was also a central meeting place. Citizens of the village could gather there for important discussions. It even hosted a local museum, showing items from the town's past.
Official fire protection services were added to the town hall in 1888. The building continued to serve these important functions for many years. In 1976, it was officially changed and became the West Chicago City Museum. Because of its historical importance, the building was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1991.
Architecture of the Building
Design and Features
The West Chicago City Museum is a two-story building. It is made from cream-colored bricks and sits on a strong limestone foundation. The building is located in the middle of a commercial area today. However, when it was first built, it stood by itself.
The main front of the building faces northeast toward Main Street. Its design is not perfectly balanced, which is a common feature of Italianate style buildings. This style was popular in the late 1800s.
The Italianate Tower
A special part of the building is its Italianate tower. This tower sticks out a little from the main front of the building. It has a second entrance and a single round-top window. The tower originally had a pointed metal roof, but that roof has since been removed.
The main entrance to the building was changed in 1942. Before that, large barn doors were used, likely for the fire station's equipment. These were replaced with a set of doors and windows in a style called Federal Style. On the second floor of the building, you can see three more round-top windows.
