Old silo could become North Aurora park feature
The old grain silo that towers behind Harner's Restaurant and Bakery in North Aurora could one day be a special place to visit.
Village, Fox Valley Park District and Harner's officials have been talking about turning it in to a small park, perhaps with an observatory in or on the nearly 100-foot concrete structure.
Monday night, village trustees gave the village administrators permission to pursue designs and investigate costs for a project.
"We don't have a name for it yet," village administrator Steve Bosco said, reassuring them that "Silo Park" is just a placeholder in the memo he presented.
The park district's landscape architect drew up preliminary designs showing a patio at the base of the silo, where people could sit at tables. A path would connect the area to another seating area between the restaurant and the west bank of the Fox River.
Either the village or the park district would take ownership of the silo.
Bosco said the park district had a similar idea about 25 years ago.
"That would be a big improvement for the area," Trustee Mark Guethle said.
There are overgrown trees and bushes near the silo. At Christmastime, a Christmas tree is put on top of it.
Engineers took a preliminary look at the exterior and determined the silo seems to be stable, Bosco said. But they didn't go inside it, so they couldn't say it if it is wide enough to accommodate an internal staircase, like the observatory silo at Peck Farm Park in Geneva.
Other riverfront news
The board also discussed whether to change the name of nearby Riverfront Park, now that the village owns it.
The park is between the village hall and the east bank of the Fox River, north of State Street. The village received it from the park district last year.
Names under consideration were Riverfront Park, Foundry Park, Old Mill Park, Crossroads Park, and Schneider's Crossing Park. (The town was founded as Schneider's Mill, named for a resident who built a grain mill.)
"I really don't see the logic in changing the name," Trustee Laura Curtis said, noting the village recently paid for a branding effort that resulted in promoting the river's prominence, including it in the village's logo and on signs.