Every week we publish a historic photo highlighting a story from Naperville’s past from the history archives of Naper Settlement.
One of the most photographed locations in downtown Naperville is the northeast corner of Jefferson Avenue and Main Street, which has seen many changes over the years.
The red brick building in today’s photo at the corner, 41 W. Jefferson Ave., is part of a commercial block that was built about 1890.
It was on that corner that Slick & Kochly Dry Goods opened for business on Sept. 18, 1897, the owners having bought out Martin Brown, who had a dry goods store there as well.
Benjamin “B.J.” Slick and Joseph Kochly had experience in the business, both having worked at Scott’s People Store before starting their own venture.
In 1904, Dr. A.B. Slick opened a dentist’s office on the second floor above his father’s store.
After the building anchored by Russell’s Cleaners at Main Street and Jefferson Avenue in downtown Naperville was torn down in 2019, a new building went up in its place and is now occupied by a Filson store. (Erin Hegarty/Naperville Sun)
The dry goods operation would remain in that spot until 1950, when Zabelin and Zigelnik’s Main Store made its debut.
After that came Russell’s Cleaners, which was at the location for a half-century, from 1967 to 2017. After the last garment was dry cleaned, the original building was demolished.
In 2019, a new building went up there, built in a similar style and with “Breitwieser 2019” engraved at the top — a nod to Russell Breitwieser, owner of Russell’s Cleaners, and the year in which construction was completed.
The new building features a faux second floor to retain the street’s historic roofline. Illinois’ first Filson store, an international company that sells outdoor clothing, travel bags, watches and other items, now occupies the site.
At 39 W. Jefferson Ave. a two-store commercial building was built about 1875.
William Wickel bought one portion in 1877 and opened a small pharmacy. Thirty-eight years later, his son-in-law, Louis W. Oswald, bought the business and renamed it Oswald’s Pharmacy, a business that remains in Naperville to this day — albeit now at 88 W. Gartner Road.
In 1917, Oswald added a soda fountain that served Coca-Cola, which at the time was made with the soft drink company’s then-special ingredient, cocaine.
The building occupied by Ramsay’s Kitchen on Jefferson Avenue in downtown Naperville was once the longtime home of Oswald’s Pharmacy. (H. Rick Bamman/Naperville Sun)
Oswald’s Pharmacy became affiliated with Rexall about the same time, and it would remain an Rexall store until the 1970s. Its logo still appears on the Oswald sign.
Harold Kester, who ran the pharmacy from 1952 to 1977, doubled the size of the store by buying and expanding into the adjacent building to the east. Aluminum siding was added to the exterior in the 1950s.
Longtime residents may recall Paradise Paperback, which opened in October 1964, was located above the drug store.
When Oswald’s relocated to Naperville Plaza in 2004, the brick façade was restored. Ted’s Montana Grill was located there from 2007 to 2020, and now it’s home to Ramsay’s Kitchen.
More information about the architectural history of these buildings can be found at www.naperville.il.us/contentassets/94290172fa65443896b63e35af2deab9/cmp-dpa-downtown-architectural-survey-forms.pdf.
Andrea Field is the curator of history at Naper Settlement. For more information, go to www.NaperSettlement.org. Steve Metsch is a freelance reporter for the Naperville Sun.
