History

Building and Industry Flourish in Naperville

Scott's Block

Willard Scott opened a large general store in the early days of the Naper village. People came from all over the county to shop in Scott's grocery department, tailor shop, millinery shop, and general dry goods and hardware sections. Scott added a bank to his business enterprises in 1854.

Kroehler Manufacturing Company
Scott's Block
Naperville Nurseries
Knoch Cigar Store

Scott's Block Willard Scott, Jr. operated the family businesses after his father retired in 1867. He also opened Scott's Hall over the store in 1876. It soon became the town's premiere dance hall, theater, and community center. With removable seating for 400 patrons, it was said to be one of the finest of its kind in the state.

Scott Jr. sold the store business to Carl Broeker and his brother-in-law Will Spiegler in September 1905. In 1927 the Broeker partnership with the Spiegler brothers was dissolved. Later that year Broeker's Department Store opened in a new two-story brick building on Jefferson Avenue, where they stayed in business until 1982.

In 1907, Scott's Bank closed and sold its assets to the First National Bank. Ten years later, competition from the new Naper Theater's moving picture shows attracted audiences away from Scott's Hall. Clarence Croft turned the building into the Spanish Tea Room in the late 1920s, but the restaurant closed when business declined during the Great Depression. The hall was used as a practice area for the Naperville Fire Department band until state fire inspectors condemned it in 1949.