The familiar places of Downers Grove, seen across generations

By Julia Mazurek  | Photos courtesy of Greg Elisha, the Downers Grove Historical Society, the Downers Grove Park District and Michelle Lytle

It’s easy to forget that many Downers Grove streets have served as the backdrop for community life for well over a century.

We drive the same streets, pass the same storefronts, wait at the same railroad crossings. But only sometimes do we stop to wonder what occupied those corners decades earlier.

Thanks to the remarkable side-by-side photography in Downers Grove: Past and Present, author Greg Elisha has curated a visual display of the village’s transformation over generations, while also highlighting how the village’s character has endured.

For nearly 25 years, Elisha has called Downers Grove home – along with his wife, Audrey, and their three sons. A lifelong history enthusiast and former member of the Downers Grove Historical Society, he spent years working with historic photographs and researching the people and places that shaped the community.

Inspired by the remarkable transformations around town, Elisha set out to create a coffee table book that paired historic images with present-day photographs. The result invites readers to see familiar landmarks through a new lens, revealing both how much has changed, as well as what has endured.

Downers Grove’s Main Street Station, completed in 1911 in the Classical Revival style, shown here around 1920.

More than 7.5 million passenger trips were taken on Metra’s BNSF Line in 2025, making it the busiest commuter rail line in the Metra system. Source: Metra Ridership Data 2025

The Village Heartbeat

Few places have shaped Downers Grove as profoundly as its railroad. Businesses clustered nearby, and neighborhoods grew around it. The railroad transformed a once-small farming community into a thriving suburb.

Today, thousands of commuters still begin and end their day at the station, proving that while the trains – and the village around them – have evolved, the railroad remains the steady pulse of community life.

Depot Park was located northeast of Main Street and Burlington Avenue. The fountain was installed in 1876 to commemorate Philadelphia’s Centennial Exhibition.

The fountain was removed in 1940, paving the way for the Metra train line commuter hub.

Levi Mertz and Charles Mochel built the two-story brick store in 1884.

Today, Keller Williams Realty is located at 5122 Main Street

The Evolution of Main Street

Early Main Street met the needs of its time. In a growing village, hardware stores, shoe shops, pharmacies, and family-owned businesses supplied the essentials of everyday life.

The storefronts have changed, and today’s downtown may not stock all of life’s necessities.  But Main Street’s role as the heart of the community remains constant: it’s where Downers Grove comes together.

The Penner Building on Main Street is named for Conrad Penner, a harness maker who adapted to the arrival of the automobile by expanding his business to sell tires and repair shoes.

The shops at the Penner Building have changed over the years, but his name still appears on the building.

The Farmers and Merchants Bank, built in 1892, became a civic hub, including the town’s first public library upstairs.

Today, Pierce Tavern honors the building’s history with subtle design touches, including a wall of books recalling Downers Grove’s first public library.

The First Evangelical Church was built in 1909 and stood at the northeast corner of Main Street.

The stone-clad Gothic Revival structure was demolished in 1960 when the congregation moved to a new facility, making way for a gas station, a park, a parking lot, and now Main & Maple apartments.

Places Reimagined

Some places illustrate the evolution of Downers Grove more dramatically. The appearances and purposes of these places are very different today.  These dramatic changes serve as reminders that a community also grows by finding new uses for the places and spaces that shaped it. Legacy can also live on through reinvention.

Before it became one of Downers Grove’s most beloved parks, Gilbert Park was a gravel quarry that supplied material for the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad.

The park was named after Gilbert Avenue, which honors Samuel Gilbert, who was an early settler and civic leader.

For decades, the Cock Robin on Fairview Avenue was a summertime tradition for Downers Grove families. Famous for its square scoops of ice cream and “One in a Million” malts, it was one of Chicagoland’s most beloved local restaurant chains.

The site continues to serve generations of Downers Grove families as White Fence Farm Carry-Out, keeping the tradition of a quick comfort-food stop alive.

Still Serving Memories

The architectural details have been updated, signs have changed, but the experiences remain familiar. These landmarks remind us that while Downers Grove continues to evolve, there’s still something special about gathering – whether for a movie or a show, or over a burger or crispy chicken. These community destinations have evolved, but continue to bring neighbors together as they have for decades.

Downers Grove: Past and Present is available to buy locally at Anderson’s Bookshop, as well as online, and can also be found at the Downers Grove Public Library and the Downers Grove Museum.