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Community Corner

Patch Passport: Historic Downers Grove

The first in a series of regional "staycation" destinations.

With a hustling, bustling downtown business area, it’s easy to forget that Downers Grove has a rich and vibrant history that can still be revisited with ease. Take a trip back in time to visit Downers Grove’s roots.

Downers Grove Park District Museum

The Downers Grove Park District Museum was built in 1892 as the home of early Downers Grove settlers, the Charles Blodgett family.  Stepping into the majestic home is stepping into a slower, gentler and more gracious time.

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The museum, located in the lovely Wandschneider Park at 831 Maple Ave., permits a look at life during the Victorian era. The upstairs of the museum, which is also home to the , is a repository of thousands of materials including birth and death certificates, vintage photographs, newspaper archives, city directories, and other items which document the history of Downers Grove and may be perused by the public.

Also on the museum campus is the 1846 Blodgett House built by Israel and Avis Blodgett. This is reported to be one of the two or three oldest homes in the village. The Blodgetts were abolitionists, and the home was an active stopover in the Underground Railroad. It is currently being restored as a museum.

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Downers Grove historic cemeteries

The Downers Grove Main Street Cemetery is a fascinating destination for area residents, as well as genealogy and history buffs. It is reportedly one of only two downtown business district cemeteries in the country. First used in 1856, the entrance was on the west side of the grounds, because that was where Main Street was situated at the time. Main Street was eventually moved because of the trains—and the entrance to the cemetery with it—so the headstones appear to be backwards.

Also of historic significance are Oak Hill Cemetery, Oak Crest Cemetery and the Pierce Downer family cemetery. Oak Hill and Oak Crest are located between Maple Avenue and Howard Street. Oak Hill has about 504 plots with between six and eight people buried in each. Within its boundaries are the graves of more than 40 Civil War soldiers and veterans.

The Pierce Downer cemetery is located close to Herrick Middle School abutting 4524 Linscott Ave. The Downers had intended to use a plot at the Main Street Cemetery. However, at the time of Mrs. Downer’s death, there was severe flooding of St. Joseph Creek, and Pierce Downer was unable to transport her remains to Main Street. The day after her burial on their own grounds, Downer himself died and was buried alongside her. Eleven family members are buried there.

Tivoli Theatre

When it opened on Christmas Day 1928, the was called “the wonder theatre of suburban Chicago,” and the description is fitting to this day.

The French Renaissance-style Tivoli was one of the first “talkies” in the United States. It has been painstakingly restored over the years to its majestic glory. In addition to its standard, not-quite-first-run movies, Tivoli is the home of the After Hours Film Society’s art and foreign film screenings, as well as a popular venue for live performances. 

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