Batavia, IL

Rows of preserved windmills beside the Fox River keep Batavia's industrial nickname, the Windmill City, visible in a public space used every day. The 12-acre Batavia Riverwalk curves around Depot Pond and the city government center, crosses the river by a pedestrian bridge, and connects with the eastern leg of the Fox River Bike Trail. Its fishing area, playground, boat rentals, bike share, picnic spaces, and walking paths support routine use, while the Peg Bond Center hosts River Rhapsody concerts and the Windmill City Festival. Depot Pond can become a public skating area when winter ice conditions permit. Across the river, factories produced windmills from the mid-1800s into the 1940s; examples of that work now line the path. Batavia, founded in 1833 and the oldest city in Kane County, had 26,098 residents in 2020. It forms the Fox Valley's Tri-City area with Geneva and St. Charles, and Fermilab lies just east of the city.

ATTRJacob Truedson Demitz for Ristesson / Public domain

The free Batavia Depot Museum adds another layer to the riverfront. It occupies an 1854 Chicago, Burlington and Quincy depot listed on the National Register of Historic Places, with permanent and rotating exhibits on rail transportation, windmill production, agriculture, banking, and commerce. Saving the building became a citywide event in 1973: it moved nine blocks, over a hill and bridge, while local schoolchildren were released from class to watch. In March 2026, the City Council approved construction of River Street Plaza on the former Tin Shop site, with accessible paving, seating, lighting, bike racks and a repair station, public art, pollinator plantings, and a restroom. The phased project is intended to support the farmers market, community events, and ordinary downtown use.