The 1929 Skyscraper That Survived an Arson Fire

The Elgin Tower Building opened in May 1929 as the Home Banks Building. Built at a cost of $800,000, it was designed to house the Home National Bank and Home National Savings and Trust. The building featured state-of-the-art vaults that were fireproof and burglar-proof, and its completion as the city's first skyscraper was seen as the dawning of a new era for Elgin.

Home National Bank collapsed during the Great Depression. By the time Home National declared bankruptcy in 1932, only 35% of the building was still occupied. The First National Bank of Chicago assumed control in August 1932 and renamed the structure the Elgin Tower Building. The building survived an arson fire on May 4, 2014, which destroyed an elevator with a wooden interior. It was purchased by Capstone Development in 2016 and renovated into apartments.

William R. Stickling purchased the tower in 1978 and performed substantial restorations, including a project in 1996 costing millions of dollars. In 1999, special lighting was installed on the exterior to showcase its architectural merit. Following Stickling's death in 1999, the building was donated to the William R. Stickling Charitable Foundation. The tower was added to the National Register of Historic Places on May 22, 2002.

Sources: Wikipedia, OpenStreetMap, Wikidata, Wikimedia Commons