The Masonic Temple was dedicated on January 9, 1914 by Henry T. Burnap, Most Worshipful Grand Master. This grand space was described in the following text taken from the dedication program in 1914: “This building is 79 X 109 feet, having the main…

Matched only by the F.K. Robeson Company, W. Lewis Department store was a solid anchor of retail in Downtown for over sixty years. Started by Wolf Lewis, who followed his father and immigrated from Poland in 1897, it began as a small dry good store…

When completed in 1924 this beautiful Beaux-Arts inspired station was promoted as the largest and most complete structure of its kind in any city the size of Champaign. At the time the populationwas 15,873. The station was constructed at the…

BUILDING HISTORY The English Building was built originally in 1905 by a firm called McKim, Mead and White with the project estimating around $80,000. Its original purpose was for a woman’s dormitory that housed a pool, chemical laboratory, practice…

BUILDING HISTORY Smith Memorial Hall was named for Tina Weedon Smith, wife of Captain Thomas J. Smith of Champaign, IL. On August 14, 1913, Captain Thomas J. Smith wrote a letter to Captain Edward Bailey stating that Smith intended to donate about…

University High School, designed in "Collegiate Gothic" style by the notable Chicago Firm of Holabird and Roche, was built in 1916-1918. It opened as a practice high school for the College of Education on September 21, 1921, with about one…