Aurora demolishes its old police station

When Aurora opened a new police headquarters in 1966, the facility was state-of-the art — just perfect for the 100 or so officers who worked to serve and protect on the 12 square miles of city streets.

But as Aurora grew and its population numbers rose to become the state’s second-largest city, the police department building at 350 N. River St. became cramped.

Detectives shared desks and closets were used for storage. In the downstairs shooting range, officers stood just feet from each other.

On Wednesday, current and former police officials, including three previous chiefs, formally said goodbye to their old haunts, as wrecking crews began demolition of the building.

“At the time (when it was built), they thought it was a great building,” said Bill Powell, a 30-year police department veteran who was chief from 2005 to 2008. “But this building was built for people. It wasn’t built for technology.”

The facility opened at a time when computers of any sort weren’t a normal part of law enforcement work — let alone everyday life. As police began using newer technologies in the 1980s, such as in-car cameras and radio systems, the need for a modern police operations center became evident, Powell said.

“This building was an impediment to us doing our jobs,” Powell said. “It’s somewhat of a sad day, but I’m glad to see it come to an end.”

Mayor Tom Weisner, who began working for the city in 1986 as its director of emergency services, had his office in the building’s basement. Two decades later as mayor, he led efforts to open the new police headquarters at 1200 E. Indian Trail Road. The $108.2 million, 152,000-square-foot facility opened in December 2009, complete with a larger shooting range and training space, more dispatch stations and meeting rooms, and an attached branch court building

“When the (old) building opened, we had one-third of the officers and one-third of the population that we do now,” Weisner said. “The building served beyond its useful life. It was overcrowded for a long time.”

Even after two additions and a wraparound wing were added in 1977, it soon became full again as the city grew and more officers were hired, current Chief Greg Thomas said.

“It was like a parking deck with walls,” Thomas said. “The new building is vastly different.”

Some longtime police department employees took bricks from the wreckage Wednesday as souvenirs.

Former Chief Bill Lawler, who started as an Aurora patrol officer in 1970, said officers spent lots of time at the old station — sometimes more than they spent at home.

“It’s kind of bittersweet today,” Lawler said. “It’s like losing your boyhood home.”

Demolition is expected to take four to six weeks, said Mark Anderson, a superintendent in the city’s administrative services department.

The land will be turned into a park and be connected via pedestrian walkway to the new RiverEdge Park, which will include open land on the east and west banks of the Fox River, as well as a music garden, seating lawn and market area.

Prior to the police station being built, Aurora’s Wilder family donated the land to the city with the wish it be used for a civic purpose.