This article originally appeared in the Aurora Historical Society’s Spring 2015 newsletter. Become a member and receive our newsletters right in your mailbox.
A handsome store fixture, a zinc-lined cigar display case probably built around 1900, was for many years a real eye-catcher at the Aurora Greenhouse florist shop at 1 West Downer and later at 315 West Galena. When William Wulff sold his business, he couldn’t bring himself to part with it so it went home with him and received a facelift, including interior lighting and stylish fabric lining.
Now, Bill has donated it to the historical society, where it greets visitors to the David L. Pierce Art and History Center at 20 East Downer Place.
No one seems to know exactly where the case came from, although it seems reasonable to imagine it was used in a downtown Aurora business, possibly a smoke shop, and sold at auction.
