Naperville 1920 Flashback: Big Fires Start the Year

Fire activity doubled in 1920 with three big fires occurring in the first three months. While the city normally faced maybe 10-12 fire events a year, there were 20 fires in this start to the new decade.  

At the time, fire department boasted one motorized chemical engine and the “Joe Naper” hand pumper in addition to the traditional bucket brigades. Naperville’s fire department was established in 1874 when there was no city-wide electricity or water and sewer system and not even a street numbering system for addresses.

These improvements, however, were in place by the early 1900s. The city also purchased a 1916 International Chemical Engine, the first that wasn’t powered by a team of horses. The chemicals in the Chemical Engine were a soda-acid combination that helped propel water onto a fire.

According to records, most of the fires that year were related to chimneys, perhaps due to an exceptionally cold winter, but of note were three major fires. The main infirmary at the Edward Tuberculosis Sanitarium burned in February, which was listed in the log as due to crossed wires. Personnel tried to save the recently-installed x-ray machine, but unfortunately they couldn’t drag it far enough away from the falling debris. In early March, there was a fire in a factory on the Hunt Estate and a second fire mid-month at the Judge Goodwin mansion known as Heatherton.

While these three fires caused a total of $1.75 million worth of damages, no lives were lost – at least not in the fires. Judge Goodwin died in Chicago on the same night that his home burned down and there has been plenty of speculation about that coincidence.  A Fire and Water Engineering book from that year says the fire is “believed to be incendiary.” One rumor suggests that the Judge’s servant was instructed to destroy Mrs. Goodwin’s inheritance once she was widowed. The Heatherton property was eventually purchased by North Central College with financial assistance from Peter Kroehler and is currently home to the fieldhouse.

Naperville 1920 Flashback: Horses to Cars

In just a few short years, the automobile displaced the horse and wagon, even in still-rural Naperville. These two images from Sanborn Maps tell the story. In 1909, the fire brigade’s pumper wagon was stored on Jefferson Avenue with a livery stable across the street for the horses to pull the wagon.

By 1920, the livery stable is a garage for motor vehicles. In fact, a number of buildings labeled “auto” are sprinkled all over the map. Two livery stables listed earlier and the horse net manufacturer on Jackson are gone. Instead, downtown boasts three different auto sales and repair shops. Our love affair with the automobile has begun!

The Sanborn Map Company published very detailed maps of urban areas to help fire insurance companies better assess their liabilities. For us today, they offer a fascinating look at our city’s past.

Naperville 1920 / 2020 - Setting the Stage

According to contemporary reports, a wild winter storm greeted the new year as 1920 dawned in Illinois. The President was Woodrow Wilson. The Governor was Frank Lowden. With World War I wrapping up, the nation was intending to go back to normal, but normal was anything but in the 1920s.

WWI ended in November of 1928, but the Treaty of Versailles didn't actually take effect until January 10, 1920. The last soldiers were coming home from overseas, having experienced more of the world than their parents or grandparents ever had. Many of the women who had filled in for their menfolk were reluctant to take off their trousers, put their dresses back on and return to the kitchen. Patriotism was high across the nation.

But patriotism was morphing into a nationalism that sowed suspicion. The rise of communism, socialism and fascism in Europe raised fears in the U.S. The first "Red Scare" raids in November 1919 and January 1920 were to oust leftist leaders and political and labor radicals. Immigrants were looked at differently and there were calls to close the borders to immigration. The Ku Klux Klan, once a Confederate social club, adopted an "Americanism" creed that embraced intolerance not only for immigrants, but also for blacks, Catholics, Jews and various practices they deemed "immoral."

So what was it like during this time in little Naperville?
Naperville was incorporated as a city in 1890 and by 1912 was a commission form of government with a mayor and several commissioners instead of aldermen and wards. Mayor Charles B. Bowman was a professor at North-Western College (later renamed North Central College). His commissioners were Alexander Grush (who owned a meat market), Robert Enck (who was in coal supply), Charles Rohr (who was a florist), and C.C. Coleman (who was a druggist.)

The men met at the "new" city hall after moving from their location above the jail and firehouse which was located about where the Apple Store is on Jefferson. The local Masons had just built a new building in 1916 (the Naperville Running Company building) and had moved out of their rooms above the First National Bank. That building, now La Sorella di Francesca, became the new city hall.

Naperville's quarries were no longer being worked, so the main employer in town was the Kroehler Manufacturing Company, renamed in 1915 as the Naperville Lounge Company started incorporating other factories.

While Edward Hospital doesn't look anything like it did in 1920, it did exist as a popular Sanitarium. The YMCA, which does still boast its original building, had been completed in 1911 and even allowed women to use the facilities at certain times of the week. Another landmark from the 1920s that still exists in some form today is Nichols Library, which was built in 1898.

George Santayana said "Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it" while Mark Twain is supposed to have replied "History doesn't repeat itself, but it does rhyme." Comparing 1920 to 2020 is certainly an interesting exercise that may be useful as well!

Naperville Art: The Grinch

Since it’s December, it seems appropriate to wrap up the past year of learning about the artwork sponsored by Century Walk with a holiday-appropriate piece: “The Grinch.”

This faithful three-dimensional adaptation of the beloved Dr. Seuss character was installed in 2012 outside of the Naper Boulevard library. It was the third Dr. Seuss statue that Century Walk placed in front of a library. “The Cat in the Hat” was installed at Nichols Library in 2007 and “Green Eggs and Ham” was installed at the 95th Street Library in 2008. Now each of Naperville’s libraries has a Dr. Seuss statue to greet the city’s youngest readers.

All three of the statues were created by artist Leo Rijn. Audrey Geisel, the widow of Theodor Geisel (who wrote as Dr. Seuss), started The Art of Dr. Seuss Collection six years after her husband’s death and Rijn was chosen to create bronze renditions of these favorite books.

Theodor Geisel actually created quite a lot of art in addition to the book illustrations, most of which was never displayed during his lifetime. Not only did Geisel illustrate his books and paint, but he also created the Unorthodox Collection of Taxidermy. He “stuffed” and “mounted” totally invented creatures similar to those in his books, often using actual horns, beaks and other parts from deceased zoo animals. Audrey fulfilled his wish to share his “secret art” with the public by launching the Dr. Seuss project in 1997. The collection includes limited edition reproductions of his original art as well as interpretations of his work by other artists, such as these sculptures by Rijn.

A number of bronze statues were created by Rijn for the the first Tribute Collection. In addition to the three installed by the Century Walk in Naperville, other characters he sculpted include Horton, the Lorax and the Turtle Tower.

Rijn was also commissioned by Universal Studios to develop scale models of Dr. Seuss characters to be used at their theme park in Orlando. Seuss Landing, for the youngest park visitors, features several of Rijn’s Dr. Seuss sculptures and the buildings and decor were all influenced by his art direction.

When not sculpting Dr. Seuss characters, Rijn works on Hollywood film projects. His art has appeared in films from “Masters of the Universe” to “Star Trek” to “Thor” and he has worked with likes of Tim Burton, Steven Spielberg and Ang Lee.

All of the Dr. Seuss statues are familiar landmarks at Naperville’s libraries. In past years, The Cat in the Hat at Nichols Library has been “yarn bombed” during the winter, making it look like he is wearing a brightly-colored sweater against the chill and and people often take selfies in front of the statues. In fact, getting a photo of yourself with The Grinch could make a nice Christmas card!

Naperville Art: Faith, Hope and Charity

The trouble with murals is that when the wall goes, so does the mural. Planning ahead, the 40th piece in the Century Walk art collection was painted on a removable board that was taken down a couple of years ago and recently re-installed. 

“Faith, Hope and Charity” was sponsored by Euclid Lodge 65, the Naperville chapter of Freemasons, and first unveiled in 2011 on the west wall of Russell’s Dry Cleaners. But after 50 years in business, Russell Breitwieser retired in 2017. The building needed to be torn down, so the Masons put the mural in storage. The outdoor outfitter, Filson, opened in that space this past September, but without the mural. 

Naperville’s Euclid Lodge was founded on October 2, 1849, which means they just celebrated their 170th anniversary last month. In honor of the occasion, they held an open house at their headquarters and rededicated the mural at its new location. You can now find “Faith, Hope and Charity” on the south wall of the Gap on Main Street. 

The mural was painted by artist Marianne Lisson Kuhn. Kuhn, who was born and raised in Naperville, is a familiar sight in the local art community. Other Century Walk art pieces she created are “Naperville Loves a Parade,” “World’s Greatest Artists” and “The Way We Were.” She has also painted several of the fiberglass sculptures that are part of the downtown scene every summer. 

“Faith, Hope and Charity” depicts George Washington and Joseph Naper wearing their Masonic aprons as well as many other symbols of the Scottish rite. 

On Washington’s side of the painting are listed notable Masons such as Winston Churchill, Wolfgang Mozart and Theodore Roosevelt. On Naper’s side are listed local notable Masons such as James Nichols, Lewis Ellsworth and Willard Scott. The first Worshipful Master from 1848, Keith Aylmer, is not listed and others on the list were not Masters at all. 

Behind Naper, Kuhn painted the current lodge meeting hall. The Masons built it in 1916-17 after outgrowing several of their earlier halls. Before 1977, the first floor housed the Naper Theater and the Naperville Running Company currently operates out of the space. During the mural rededication, the hall was open for visitors to tour and ask questions of the members.

Other places Euclid Lodge used to meet include the east part of Empire’s building, Blue Mercury (which was Starbucks until they moved across the street) and the La Sorella di Francesca building, among others. The group’s website features a nice history page with photos of the old locations and past Masters for further information.