Look ahead for a tall, brown-brick skyscraper with a big antenna and a giant star on top-towering far above any other building along the Fox River, it’s impossible to miss!
Welcome to the mighty Leland Tower! Standing at a cloud-grazing twenty-two stories tall, this beauty was the tallest building in Illinois outside of Chicago back in its day. Picture it: the year is 1926, flapper dresses are swirling, and cars have just barely stopped needing to be cranked by hand. Suddenly, Aurora decides to build a hotel so grand and tall, it could make Chicago jealous! The Leland Hotel soared into the sky right here on Stolp Island, brought to life by ambitious architects and builders who probably needed a strong cup of coffee each morning just to keep up.
Back then, the Aurora-Leland Hotel was the ultimate hotspot-modern rooms with telephones in every suite, and if you wanted to feel like a superstar, you’d simply head up to the famous Sky Club on top. Imagine the music drifting through the night air, couples laughing and dancing under shimmering chandeliers. Locals, celebrities, even the Chicago “swanks” made a beeline to the Sky Club, all hoping to bump into a big shot like Philip K. Wrigley, Sally Rand, or singing cowboy Gene Autry. It was said you hadn’t really made it until you’d dined and danced above the sparkling city lights.
The glamour faded a bit with the ‘60s, and the grand hotel closed its doors, but Leland Tower stayed strong, switching careers from hosting parties to transmitting TV and radio signals. Even now, it puts on a show every winter-just look up! That huge, sparkling shooting star and Christmas tree atop the roof are holiday legends in Aurora.
So, while you’re standing in the shadow of this giant, imagine all those footsteps, jazz tunes, and whispered secrets echoing through time. It’s not every day you get to hang out with a legend, right?
