{"nrhp_refnum":"76000684","name":"U.S. Post Office","other_names":["Federal Building"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"Randolph and Church Sts.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Champaign","county":"Champaign County","state":"IL","lat":40.11850679500003,"lon":-88.24548200199996,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1976-08-17","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A one-storey brick federal building with a raised full basement at Randolph and Church Streets in Champaign, Illinois. Built in 1905 as the U.S. Post Office from the office of Supervising Architect James Knox Taylor, it was later enlarged and became a Federal Building.","why_significant":"The nomination calls it the only significant example of early twentieth century classicism in its immediate area. It expresses the Beaux-Arts aesthetic and the Federal Government's presence in Champaign. It is also a fine example of prefabricated terra cotta ornament, and the 1936 addition carefully copied the 1905 details.","narrative":"Completed in 1905 as Champaign's U.S. Post Office, this brick building at Randolph and Church Streets was designed in the office of James Knox Taylor, Supervising Architect of the Treasury. It rises one storey above a raised limestone-faced basement. Its central pavilion has paired, deeply fluted Ionic pilasters, and terra cotta and limestone supply a dense layer of classical ornament beneath a balustraded parapet. An addition built in 1936 replaced a smaller 1929 wing, and its Church Street side carefully copied the 1905 detailing. Newspaper accounts note that workers were paid the prevailing wage, and the result was high-quality craftsmanship. The building became a Federal Building in 1966, and the interior was altered, though the lobby plan and original terrazzo floors survive. It was listed because it is the area's only significant example of early twentieth century classicism and a lasting reminder of turn-of-the-century taste and craftsmanship.","period_of_significance":"1905, 1929","architect_builder":"James Knox Taylor (architect); Wm. Weber (contractor)","architectural_style":"Beaux-Arts Classical","criteria":[],"status_note":"Occupied and in good condition. Converted to a Federal Building in 1966, with interior alterations that left the original fabric largely intact.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:55:34.523532-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/14/8918/28891814/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_IL/76000684.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/76000684/9dc096de3b-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/76000684/9dc096de3b-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0 us","author":"Dori","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Post_Office_Champaign_Illinois_4119.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Dori</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/us/deed.en\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 3.0 us</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Post_Office_Champaign_Illinois_4119.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/28891814","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Post_Office_(Champaign,_Illinois)","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7890924"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/illinois/champaign-county/u-s-post-office-76000684/"}