Adolphus W Brower House – Sycamore, Illinois – Historic architecture abounds

Tired from my recent trip, I’m headed back to Sycamore, Illinois, suffering from a severe case of Republican icon overload. Breathe, sigh, I’m back and I’ll calm down. Soothed by the perfect Italian style. At 705 DeKalb Avenue in Sycamore there is an example of high-end Italianate style in the Adolphus W. Brower House.

The house featured an original scrolled porch, which was reflected in the rectangular bay enclosed porch on the east side of the house. The porch balustrade (wiki) has been altered at some point since the late 1970s. When the house was nominated for the National Register of Historic Places in 1978, it was called a postcard, a perfect example of the style upon approval, which Valentine’s Day occurred in 1979.

Adolphus W. Brower was, in his day, a fairly well-known hardware dealer in Sycamore’s early years. I’m not sure if he had any particular relationship with prominent Sycamore attorney Floyd E. Brower, whose home was discussed in another related article I wrote. Unfortunately, the National Register documentation for the Adolphus Brower House is not yet available online at the time of this writing or I would have linked to it.

Online resources for more information

* Adolphus W. Brower House : Antique Photos (NRHP Archives) – 1978

Tomorrow we will stay in the area and investigate examples of Prairie style architecture in DeKalb County.

Sycamore, Illinois is a city of approximately 15,000 people, located in DeKalb County, of which it is the county seat. Sycamore was established in 1835, primarily north of the Kishwaukee River.