Hofmann Tower

Hofmann Tower is the name of a tower in Lyons, Illinois. It was built in the year 1908 and was added to the National Register of Historic Places on December 22, 1978. Hofmann Tower is featured prominently in two books written by Rose Marie Benedetti and Virginia C. Bulat entitled Lyons: A history of a village and area important for 300 years (1959) and Portage, pioneers, and pubs: A history of Lyons, Illinois (1963). George Hofmann, Jr., a local brewer built a dam on the Des Plaines River to generate electricity. He also built the adjacent tower as part of a park that attracted visitors to picnic and ride boats. In the 1970s, Rose Marie Benedetti and Maureen S. Kiener worked closely with the preservation efforts of the Village of Lyons Historical Commission to have Hofmann Tower designated a village and state landmark and placed on the National Register of Historic Places.