Former Riverview Dairy at 216 S. Riverside Ave., St. Charles, IL, February 19, 2025.
Demolition will NOT be the fate of the former dairy building on the east bank of the Fox River in St. Charles!
The former Riverview Dairy at 216 Riverside Ave was slated for demolition in 2022 (for a brief history of the building, see below). The owner, Frontier Development, received approval from the City of St. Charles to build a new 5-story apartment complex they called River East Lofts in place of the 1920s former dairy. Very little visible work has been done since.
Last week, the owner sought approval from the Historic Preservation Commission (HPC) for changes to the former dairy so that the building can be put back into use. According to Frontier Development’s owner Curt Hurst, there are no immediate plans to move forward on the River East Lofts project approved in 2022. Instead, the extant historic building will be readied for reuse by a new tenant Hurst did not disclose. No timeline was provided for when the work would be completed.
The plans for restoration approved by HPC include some changes to the building that should have little impact on the integrity of the historic brick dairy. The most consequential will be the removal of the smokestack that projects two stories above the one-story building. This architectural feature could be considered significant to the identity of the building's original purpose. However, the smokestack serves no purpose now and is a safety hazard according to the owner. Removing the smokestack is cheaper and safer than repair, Mr. Hurst explained to the HPC. Also, on the roof is a wooden structure that is not likely original to the building and will be removed.
A new door will be added to the west façade, in the location of a former loading dock which has since been infilled with brick. Another door will replace two windows on the north façade. The remaining changes will be replacing all the non-original windows with aluminum-clad windows.
Details of the approved plan can be seen here.
Considering the alternative, which was demolition, this rehabilitation project provides a wonderful new future for this historic structure and preserves the historic character of St. Charles!
HISTORY OF THE RIVERVIEW DAIRY BUILDING
According to Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps, the dairy was originally constructed between 1912 and 1923.[1] The building first served as a receiving plant for the Bowman Dairy Company. Dairy cattle were plentiful in the Fox Valley and there were several dairy processing plants, more commonly known as creameries, in downtown St. Charles at the time. Farmers would bring their milk to St. Charles to be collected and delivered by milkmen to residents or used by creameries for processing.
In 1937, Riverview Dairy, founded by St. Charles resident Joseph Clark in 1890, purchased the Bowman Receiving Plant and, according to the St. Charles Chronicle, updated and possibly expanded it.[2] In 1969 the creamery was sold to Fantasy Flavors which made ice cream.[3] After Fantasy Flavors moved out in 1975, the building hosted several other businesses including Run & Bike HQ and the St. Charles Chamber of Commerce.
The building’s architecture is vernacular, meaning it has no distinctive style. However, the building’s age and historical significance representing St. Charles’s dairy industry, led the Historic Preservation Commission to identify it as a contributing building in the St. Charles Central Historic District.
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[1] Sanborn Fire Insurance Map from Saint Charles, Kane County, IL, Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/search/?q=sanborn+maps+saint+charles+illinois&sp=1&st=image.
[2] “Riverview is New Plant of an Old Dairy,” St. Charles Chronicle, April 22, 1937, http://stcharles.advantage-preservation.com/.
[3] “Warranty Deed Document No. 1138706,” Kane County Land Records, Kane County Recorder, https://lrs.kanecountyrecorder.net/.