Part of Lake Street in Aurora named in honor of Dan Dolan Sr. who ‘was this town’s biggest fan’

During a ceremony Tuesday celebrating the life of his father, Brian Dolan summed everything up succinctly.

Standing in front of the Dolan extended family, Brian wore a red East Aurora High School Tomcats shirt, and extended forward a blue hat proclaiming the ship Dan Dolan Sr. served on while in the Navy.

"This hat, this shirt, and the people behind me is what my father was all about," Brian Dolan said. "He bled Aurora. He was this town's biggest fan. He taught me that you don't measure wealth in dollars and cents, but you measure wealth in your relationships, and your family.

"He worked hard; he partied hard; he loved Aurora hard."

Which is why Dan Dolan Sr., founder of Dolan and Murphy Real Estate, and a benefactor of many Aurora institutions, is now the only person with two streets named after him in the city.

Family, friends and officials gathered Tuesday morning at the intersection of Illinois Avenue and Lake Street to celebrate the official honorary naming of Lake Street - from Illinois to Indian Trail - as Dan Dolan Way.

It is an honor bestowed by the Illinois General Assembly, supported by state Reps. Stephanie Kifowit, D-Oswego, and Keith Wheeler, R-Oswego, and state Sen. Karina Villa, D-West Chicago, and recognized by the U.S. Congress, introduced into the Congressional Record by U.S. Rep. Bill Foster, D-Naperville.

Already, the city of Aurora has recognized the senior Dolan by honorarily naming two blocks of Watson Street on the East Side, where he grew up, in his honor. So not only does Dolan Sr. have two streets named after him, he has one on both the East and West sides of town.

Mayor Richard Irvin observed that while Dolan Sr. was an East Sider, he deserved to be recognized on both sides of the city.

"That's exactly what he did; he built the city, the whole city of Aurora," the mayor said.

It would be impossible to recount every piece of land, every building and every commercial venture that Dolan and Murphy had a hand in throughout the years. The company, which Dan Dolan Sr. started with a partner in 1965, not only officially built and had a hand in numerous developments, it also had an impact through the many philanthropic efforts the company has made - and still does - and the community organizations it supported.

Wheeler noted that Dolan and Murphy supported fast pitch softball and Aurora Baseball for many, many years, helping shape the city's youth.

"You never know the impact that had on the community," he said. "He led by example how we should love the American dream."

Kifowit said when she was first elected 3rd Ward alderman in Aurora many years ago, the first call she got was from Dolan Sr., inviting her to lunch. The lunch was long, but Kifowit said the overriding impression she came away with was "his love for Aurora, and his love for the East Side."

"I know I'm a little better for knowing Dan Dolan Sr., and I think everybody here's life is better for knowing Dan Dolan Sr.," she said.