About this property
The LaSalle Street Auto Row Historic District is a set of fifteen buildings in Aurora, Illinois. The buildings reflect the growth of automobile retail in Aurora in the early 20th century. As demand for automobiles grew, dealerships opened to more easily provide consumers with product. Originally reserved for the rich, automobiles became a reality for middle-class families in the early 1900s. The first major concentration of automobile dealerships was on Broadway Street. As commercial demand increased for land on the street, the automakers moved their dealerships to cheaper land one block east, to LaSalle Street. The LaSalle Street Auto Row was still in the heart of the city, a trend typical of cities at the time. The first commercial structure related to automobile retail was the Coates Garage at 52-54 S. LaSalle. By 1912, the street was already strongly associated with automobile retail. Between 1912 and 1921, LaSalle Street saw an increase of three automobile businesses to fifteen. Among the represented companies were Studebaker, Velie, Overland Automobile, and Buick. All of the buildings were built in the Commercial Style, the major architectural style for commercial buildings at the turn of the century. This style of architecture lacked the ornamentation of the previous Victorian-era structures. LaSalle Street was a major automobile center until the mid-1920s, as other commercial enterprises purchased the lots. By 1952, only two automobile-related structures remained in use on LaSalle Street. Although the buildings no longer harbored automobile-related businesses, 70% of them were used for other purposes and were not demolished. Restorations in the 1990s installed early 1900s-era storefront windows in the district where they had been removed. The district was added to the National Register of Historic Places on August 1, 1996. Media related to LaSalle Street Auto Row Historic District at Wikimedia Commons Friends of LaSalle Street Historic Auto Row Archived January 4, 2014, at the Wayback Machine
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Property data from the National Register of Historic Places, National Park Service (public domain).
Description adapted from Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Everything a full report reveals about LaSalle Street Auto Row Historic District
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Questions about this property
When was LaSalle Street Auto Row Historic District listed on the National Register?
LaSalle Street Auto Row Historic District was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on July 31, 1996.
What type of historic resource is LaSalle Street Auto Row Historic District?
LaSalle Street Auto Row Historic District is classified as a district in the National Register of Historic Places.
What is the period of significance for LaSalle Street Auto Row Historic District?
The period of significance for LaSalle Street Auto Row Historic District is recorded as the industrial era.
Can I research the history near LaSalle Street Auto Row Historic District?
Yes. Aubrey Research reports search National Register listings, battlefield records, land patents, and other primary historical sources within any radius of a US address. A report for an address near LaSalle Street Auto Row Historic District will include this listing and all other historical records in the area.
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