TJ BlakemanDec 23, 202111 minNeil Street or Eleventh Street?Street Renaming Plan Throws the Streets of Champaign into Chaos! On August 12, 1913, a simple nine to two vote by the Champaign City...
TJ BlakemanJan 30, 20197 min15 East Main Street - Willis Department Store, JC Penney's, and News-Gazette HeadquartersIf you ask the casual observer how old the current News-Gazette headquarters is, their answer would likely reflect the modern look of the...
TJ BlakemanJan 6, 20184 min33 East Main Street - Jos. Kuhn & CompanyBorn in Greenstadt Germany on April 14, 1837, Jos. Kuhn arrived in the United States at age 19. He arrived by way of Louisiana where he...
TJ BlakemanJan 2, 20182 min29 East Main StreetYou may have passed by 29 Main Street and never gave it a second glance. Aside from the amazing drum shop, Skins N' Tin's, which...
TJ BlakemanJan 2, 20187 min30 East Main Street - First National BankThe first building constructed on this parcel was a small wood frame commercial building that is depicted in the 1858 Urbana-West Urbana...
TJ BlakemanDec 22, 20173 min2 Main StreetThere have been two buildings constructed at this address since 1850, The Gazette Building and The Kresge Building. The Gazette Building...
TJ BlakemanDec 22, 20172 min1 East Main StreetThere is no better place to start this blog than 1 Main Street. The first building constructed on this site was Barrett Hall and was one...
