The streets of DeKalb are lined with old buildings, many of which have interesting histories. One such building is NIU’s Social Science Research Institute, formerly known as the Rice Hotel.

The Social Science Research Institute is located at 148 N. Third St. in downtown DeKalb. The building, built in 1927, has served a variety of purposes over the years, but originally was built as a hotel.

“It was an economic development and investment in town because it was on the main rail line,” said Harvey Smith, director of NIU’s Social Science Research Institute.

In exchange for a gift of land, the hotel’s original owner, M.E. Rice, agreed to build the hotel. At the time, it was the first new hotel built in DeKalb in about 50 years.

“It had a very fashionable dining room,” Smith said. “For the time, it had very comfortable accommodations, even luxurious. Everyone in DeKalb would come there to dine out.”

The hotel was prosperous. It even has been said that Teddy Roosevelt stayed there.

“It has gone through good and bad times,” Smith said. “It’s physically quite an old building.”

After World War II, the hotel saw difficult times resulting from the expansion of highways. During this time period, the American Legion Post used the basement as a meeting room and bar, while the upstairs wasn’t used much.

“They didn’t put a lot of money into it,” said Stephen Bigolin, Victorian architecture researcher. “It was on the verge of being condemned.”

For a while, the university rented the upstairs rooms for students in Peace Corps training and for additional housing when the residence halls were full.

In the 1970s, the hotel deteriorated and eventually was closed after failing to meet health and safety standards.

The building was bought by Tom Rosenow, a former NIU football player and local developer in the early 1980s.

Rosenow remodeled the building, adding brass finishings, new windows and marble flooring. Rosenow also added an annex to the building. However, most of the lobby remains in its original decor. Today, the lobby displays pictures of the old Rice Hotel lobby.

“The only bad thing is that Rosenow took down the Rice Hotel sign and no one knows what happened to it,” Smith said. “It’s all part of the legend.”

For 10 years, NIU leased the building as a research facility. In 1993, the university purchased the building.

The building houses offices such as American Farmland Trust, the Center for Governmental Studies, the Office for Social Policy Research, the Illinois City Management Association, the National Social Norms Resource Center, the Pollution Control Board and the Public Opinion Lab.