Naperville Bank & Trust Adaptive Reuse
Updated National Register nomination and Historic Tax Credits helped secure the future of Naperville’s New Deal-era Post Office.
The Washington Street Station Post Office in downtown Naperville was constructed as the city’s main post office in 1939-40 during the New Deal era. The Neo-Classical style building is home to “George Martin’s Home Overlooking Old Naper Hill,” a mural painted by Rainey Bennett in 1941 and funded by the Treasury Section of Fine Arts. The building underwent adaptive reuse to serve as the new home of the Naperville Bank & Trust.
JLK provided Historic Preservation architectural design services and historic tax credit consultation for the client and architect of record, Charles Vincent George Design Group.
JLK conducted archival research, reviewed historic documentation, and surveyed and documented existing historic materials, finishes, and features throughout the building. Historic preservation architects and architectural historians at JLK coordinated with the State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO) and guided the project team in adhering with the Secretary of the Interior’s Rehabilitation Treatment Standards.
The project utilized federal and state historic tax credits to rehabilitate the building. To achieve status as a certified historic structure, JLK prepared an amendment to the National Register listing for the Naperville Historic District. The amendment updated the listing to expand the boundaries of the district and incorporate significant properties 50 years of age of older, including the Post Office building. This process involved further research, photographic survey, and cataloguing of the city’s historic building stock.
JLK also completed all historic tax credit documentation and managed consultation with the SHPO and National Park Service.
Architect Louis A. Simon supervised the Depression-era Neo-Classical design for downtown Naperville’s Washington Street Station Post Office built 1939 to 1940. The classically symmetrical design features limestone columns, entablature, and cornice that are stripped of their ornate and decorative features. “George Martin’s Home Overlooking Old Naper Hill,” a mural painted by Rainey Bennett in 1941, was hung in the lobby and funded by the Treasury Section of Fine Arts.
The U.S. Postal Service later remodeled the lobby and constructed an addition in 1964.
The Washington Street Station Post Office in downtown Naperville was constructed as the city’s main post office in 1939-40 during the New Deal era. The Neo-Classical style building is home to “George Martin’s Home Overlooking Old Naper Hill,” a mural painted by Rainey Bennett in 1941 and funded by the Treasury Section of Fine Arts. The building underwent adaptive reuse to serve as the new home of the Naperville Bank & Trust.
JLK provided Historic Preservation architectural design services and historic tax credit consultation for the client and architect of record, Charles Vincent George Design Group.
JLK conducted archival research, reviewed historic documentation, and surveyed and documented existing historic materials, finishes, and features throughout the building. Historic preservation architects and architectural historians at JLK coordinated with the State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO) and guided the project team in adhering with the Secretary of the Interior’s Rehabilitation Treatment Standards.
The project utilized federal and state historic tax credits to rehabilitate the building. To achieve status as a certified historic structure, JLK prepared an amendment to the National Register listing for the Naperville Historic District. The amendment updated the listing to expand the boundaries of the district and incorporate significant properties 50 years of age of older, including the Post Office building. This process involved further research, photographic survey, and cataloguing of the city’s historic building stock.
JLK also completed all historic tax credit documentation and managed consultation with the SHPO and National Park Service.
Architect Louis A. Simon supervised the Depression-era Neo-Classical design for downtown Naperville’s Washington Street Station Post Office built 1939 to 1940. The classically symmetrical design features limestone columns, entablature, and cornice that are stripped of their ornate and decorative features. “George Martin’s Home Overlooking Old Naper Hill,” a mural painted by Rainey Bennett in 1941, was hung in the lobby and funded by the Treasury Section of Fine Arts.
The U.S. Postal Service later remodeled the lobby and constructed an addition in 1964.
