Naperville’s historic Beidelman building to be restored, given new look for future tenants

The historic Beidelman building in downtown Naperville is poised for a new look that harkens back to the building’s 1928 design.

Last Thursday, the city’s Historic Preservation Commission approved a number of changes to the landmarked building at 235-239 S. Washington St. that aim to maintain the building’s historic character while also making it more attractive for prospective tenants.

Those renovations include restoring the second- and third-floor windows and adding a new roofline that includes a stone-look cornice and a pitched parapet.

“Everything we’re adding comes from the building’s own history: the arches, the pitched chapel parapet, the divided windows,” said Rob Costello, owner of Naperville-based Torch Architecture. “We’re not adding a new style. … We’re not tearing down any part of the building. All the original brick and stone stays.”

After 165 years in Naperville, Beidelman Furniture closed its doors earlier this spring. The owners sold the building to Ellsworth Partners for $3.75 million. Matt Calvo, co-founder and partner for the commercial real estate firm, previously said he wants to bring new restaurant and retail tenants to the building.

“(T)his plan puts back what the building lost (in renovations over the years),” Costello said. “It keeps what’s original and gets the building ready for its next chapter.”

The origins of Beidelman Furniture date back to 1861, when then-cabinetmaker Frederick Long established a furniture business in a frame building at the corner of Washington Street and Jackson Avenue. Five decades later, Long’s nephew Oliver J. Beidelman purchased the company.

In 1928, Beidelman replaced Long’s original wooden store with a three-story brick building that was made a city landmark in 2024. The new building included a funeral chapel because at the time, the business served as both a furniture store and a mortuary. Long had a workshop facing Jackson Avenue that remains as part of the landmarked property.

Design plans from 1927 indicate the brick building was to have a Collegiate Gothic architecture style with a highly ornamental parapet. However, photos of the building from 1928 show that a simpler version of the parapet was constructed instead.

In the 1970s, the building’s second- and third-story windows were bricked over as an energy-conservation measure, according to the developer’s architectural plans. The parapet was removed and the roofline simplified to give the building a more modern, mid-century look. Today, damaged stone caps are the only remaining feature from the historic roof.

Other details were added over time, including awnings, metal paneling and a Beidelman blade sign that some residents and commissioners say is as iconic as the business itself.

The bricked-over second- and third-story windows will be restored with new aluminum clad windows. The gothic chapel windows will also be replaced new aluminum clad windows within the existing window openings.

For the roof, the damaged stone caps will be removed and the roofline will be replaced with a stone-look cornice. The section of the building where the funeral chapel used to be will have a pitched parapet with a stone band to match the historic chapel look.

“I think the proposal for the chapel roofline is also fabulous,” said Jane Burke, who worked on the landmark application for the Beidelman building. “It really highlights the fact that we had a building that was originally built as a dual-purpose building.”

The two entrances for the furniture building will be retained and given new steel canopies, but the entrance to where Standard Goods is at 235 S. Washington St. is to be removed and replaced with a window.

Tom Kiecker, owner of Standard Goods, said he was unaware of the proposed change.

“I’m blindsided. I had no idea that this was the plan,” he said.

Calvo did not respond to a request for comment Friday to clarify how Standard Goods will be impacted by the upgrades, but he previously said the store will remain in its current location.

Restoration of Long’s two-story workshop facing Jackson Avenue is also part of the plan and includes rehabilitation of existing windows, doors, frames and limestone steps where possible. The entrance to the workshop on Jackson Avenue, however, will only serve as an ornamental feature.

“I think we all recognize that the building has so much potential to return to some form of grandeur. … By adding the proposed windows, roof line details, parapets, it’s really going to reinvigorate its appearance,” said Bill Simon, president of Naperville Preservation Inc.

Although commissioners supported the proposed changes, concerns were raised about what will happen to the Beidelman blade sign. Costello said the sign’s future will likely be driven by the needs of future tenants, including changing what the sign says to reflect the new businesses. Such a change will require future city approval.

“(The owners) love the sign, but they’re trying to be flexible with trying to do business and get tenants” Costello said.

cstein@chicagotribune.com