The front portion of this home dates to 1853 when it was built for Benjamin F. Hall. Hall founded the Aurora Beacon in 1846 and became Aurora's first mayor in 1857. He later died in the Lady Elgin disaster in Chicago. The house was originally designed as an Italianate mansion with a central cupola in the low-pitched roof. It was extensively remodeled sometime between 1907 and 1910 by Captain C.H. Smith whose taste ran to Georgian Revival. Note the matching coach house. Dormitories were added to the building in 1944 when the home was donated to the Juvenile Protection Association. The J.P.A. was founded in 1914 by Edna Smith, Captain Smith's daughter.

Address

310 W Park Avenue
Aurora, IL 60506