Sim's Bowl & Lounge, last in a string of bowling lanes in downtown Des Plaines stretching back nearly to its founding, was demolished last month after being closed for several years. While Sim's Bowl has now faded into history, it’s fitting to recall what the building looked like in its heyday and what it meant to the community. Construction on Sim's Bowl, 1555 Ellinwood Ave., began Oct. 3, 1955. The owners were Bill and Ange Sim, who operated the B&B Lounge at Center and Ellinwood streets. Related: Photos of Sim's Bowl demolition and interior. Sim's was an early example of the modern bowling…

The Sugar Bowl may today be the classic downtown Des Plaines restaurant, but for many years it had a competitor just a few doors down, the Zephyr. After the demolition of the Thoma House Hotel in 1929, a new building was erected on the site to house a furniture store. The Zephyr Cafe opened in July 1936 on the left side of that building; a different tenant was next door in the same building. The facade was simple Streamline Moderne; covered in randomly-sized cut stones with two notches at either end. It was managed by the Ladas Brothers - Sam, Andrew, and John. The family also ran the …

The State Bank building is easily one of the most beautiful buildings in the city, and for now has the most beautiful interior downtown. The site had previously been land owned by pioneer settler Simeon Lee, the namesake of Lee Street. The Des Plaines State Bank, founded in 1905, was Des Plaines' oldest financial institution and was then located in a distinctive Arts and Crafts style building on Ellinwood Street, built in 1915, which also replaced a later post office. Curiously, after this building was converted into a grocery store when the bank left, it was remodeled to give it a Greek …

This building is probably best known for its longtime tenant, Bremer's Stationers, but it has a deeper story than that.It was built in 1913 for use as the Gillespie Printery, home of the Des Plaines Suburban Times under publisher David A. Gillespie. It opened just before its neighbor, the First National Bank, with the Cook County Herald reporting on November 14, 1913: Mr. and Mrs. David A. Gillespie and the people of Des Plaines have just reason to feel proud of their new printing office with modern appointments. It is a handsome brick building with business office in front, composing room …

The first movies in Des Plaines were shown at this building which stood at the Northeast corner of Miner and Pearson Streets. This was the Geisen Saloon, and it is considered the first entertainment venue in the city. The front of the building contained a saloon with boarding rooms above; an annex to the rear had stables on the first floor and a public hall on the second. While this was mainly used for dances and meetings, it would also be Des Plaines' first movie house. A local dentist, Dr. Melze, started showing movies here probably around 1910. This proved successful enough that in …

Charles William Montgomery Brown had a fascinating story. He grew up in Canada working in a general store, and started selling silks and velours because his hands didn't perspire. In 1887, he sailed with his wife on a steamer down the Erie Canal, arriving at the west side river docks. He found a job in less than a half hour. For ten years, he worked at the three main State Street Department Stores, Marshall Field & Company, Mandel Brothers, and for the longest time with Schlessinger and Mayer. In 1897, suffering from a long-time battle with tuberculosis, he retreated to Des Plaines and spent …

The Thoma House Hotel, also known as the Desplaines House, was one of the most distinctive landmarks in downtown Des Plaines from 1883-1929. It was built for about $10,000 in 1883 and contained a noted bar. It was purported to be one of the finest hotels in Chicago suburbs, located directly across from the railway depot. The three-story building contained 35 guest rooms, a lodge room, entertainment room, a place for public meetings and, later, the first bowling lane in Des Plaines. It advertised itself as a summer resort. Remember, Des Plaines was "out in the country" for Chicagoans at that …

When you picture a toy store, the first thing to pop into your mind might be a building decorated with things like bright colors, toy soldiers, or castle turrets. You expect to see a clear expression of FUN and EXCITEMENT. So it surprised me when I learned that the unassuming, barely noticeable office building at River Road and Elk Boulevard was in a past life a toy store, of all things. It was Amling's Toyland, a toy emporium operated by Arthur Amling, who had previously operated Amling Brothers Wholesale Florists. It was constructed in 1955 to plans by Robert Stauber, the local architect …

First National Bank opened January 28, 1913 under the direction of Joseph L. Jefferson, with six charter members and $60,000 in resources. In this first year, it operated out of the Scott Insurance and Real Estate office on Miner Street. By June of the same year, plans were underway for a permanent home. An order was placed for a Terra Cotta facade from the Midland Terra Cotta company of Chicago, designed by an architect named Rowe. There were a pair of architect brothers in Park Ridge named Charles Barr Rowe and Lindley Phelps Rowe at the time, so it is likely they were responsible. Midland …

As Des Plaines recovers from it's first snowfall of the year, it seems only natural to think back on the one thing most closely related to winter... ice cream? Okay, maybe not. Des Plaines has had a long love affair with ice cream. There have been many ice cream shops in town over the years - Imig's, Frejlach's, Mary's Sweet Shop, Dairy Bar, Danio's, Dairy Queen, Cold Stone Creamery, Dad's Slot Cars, and of course the Sugar Bowl. But one of the longest-lived ice cream shops was Prince Castle/Cock Robin. The Prince Castle story is well-known in Chicagoland. The first castle-type building was …

Chances are, if you were battling the Black Friday crowds this week, it was not on the streets of downtown Des Plaines. Looking around today, it is easy to forget that this was once a major retail center of the Northwest suburbs. For much of that time of retail dominance, the biggest store downtown was Spiegler's Department Store. Although Spiegler's opened its doors June 2, 1900, it was not the first department store in town. Already, there was the Des Plaines Department Store (later Brown's) and the Behrens Department Store at the southwest corner of Ellinwood & Pearson. Spiegler's itself …

The building at the southeast corner of Prairie Avenue and Lee Street is easily overlooked today, but in its time it was state of the art. It is the 1957 First National Bank of Des Plaines building. Recently sold to the Greek-American Restaurant Association of America, the building stands poised to again play an important role in the community. It will soon house Plato Academy, a small private school that is currently located in Morton Grove. The bank, founded in 1913 and housed since 1937 in the former Des Plaines State Bank building, was bursting at the seams. As Des Plaines experienced …

The Northwest suburbs aren't necessarily known for their architecture, but it's there if you know where to look for it. There are even buildings designed by famous architects, or architects that worked with famous ones. A Chicago Sojourn features this distinctive building just outside of Des Plaines. Maine Township Town Hall was designed by Lloyd Wright and Eric Lloyd Wright, the son and grandson of Frank Lloyd Wright, and built between December, 1958 and May, 1961. The church was sited on two acres set aside from the Ballard Gardens subdivision by builder Godfrey Lindstrom. The design was …

Workers today removed the last pieces of the drop ceiling and wall that have divided the Des Plaines Theatre into 2 screens. Brian Wolf was there to capture what was discovered. Much work remains ahead, including extensive plastering and painting.

A little while back, I covered the demolition of the old Chevrolet dealership on Busse, which I called an unexceptional example of mid-century architecture. Today, I'm disappointed to report on the demolition of an excellent example. These are what preservationists call "recent past" resources, and they're the buildings most vulnerable to the wrecking ball - too new to be old, too old to be new. Littelfuse's old facility on Northwest Highway was perhaps the best example of Mid-Century Modern industrial architecture in Des Plaines, and it is now being torn down at less than 50 years old, …

I'm a 24-year-old lifelong Des Plaines resident, and I'm excited to be a contributing to Des Plaines Patch. I've always been fascinated with the deep roots in Des Plaines - including my own family, here since 1915. As I learned more about our history, I realized how hard it could be to casually discover our history, especially the history embodied in our buildings. So I started a blog, Revitalize Des Plaines!, in March 2009 to share what I found. To my surprise, it caught on; Revitalize Des Plaines! now has over 1,400 fans on Facebook discovering and sharing our history. I am a …