{"nrhp_refnum":"78001115","name":"Burnham Athenaeum","other_names":["Champaign Public Library"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"306 W. Church St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Champaign","county":"Champaign County","state":"IL","lat":40.118576645000076,"lon":-88.24736092999996,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1978-06-07","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture"],"significance_levels":["state"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A two-story neo-classic public library building at 306 W. Church Street in Champaign, Illinois, built in 1896 and facing West Side Park. It was designed by Julius A. Schweinfurth and given to the city by Albert C. Burnham.","why_significant":"The building was Champaign's first purpose-built public library, a gift of Albert C. Burnham, and an early commission of Boston architect Julius A. Schweinfurth, who appears to have no other work as far west. Its Ionic-columned neo-classic form reflects the influence of the Columbian Exposition. It also forms a group with the park and nearby period houses of Burnham's banking partners.","narrative":"Built in 1896, the Burnham Athenaeum is a two-story neo-classic library on West Side Park in Champaign, Illinois. Albert C. Burnham paid for it so that the city's library, previously kept in two temporary locations, would have a permanent home. Julius A. Schweinfurth, a Boston architect trained with Peabody and Stearns and at the Ecole des Beaux Arts, designed it as one of his first commissions after returning from Europe. The cream-colored brick walls, terra cotta bands, green slate hip roof and pedimented front with four fluted Ionic columns reflect the influence of the Columbian Exposition. The plan was arranged so the librarian at the desk could watch every first-floor room. Alterations in 1970-71 added a vestibule, a fire escape, a suspended ceiling and new partitions, but the original beamed ceiling and exterior remain largely intact. The building is also tied to the park and to the nearby houses of Burnham's banking partners.","period_of_significance":"1800-1899","architect_builder":"Julius A. Schweinfurth","architectural_style":"Neo-classic","criteria":[],"status_note":"Listed as in good structural condition and little altered; the library was moving to a new building, so the property was unoccupied after 2-3-78 and a court-ordered sale was pending.","vacant_flag":true,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:55:35.499665-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/8/8918/28891808/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_IL/78001115.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/78001115/9a1b1e13c0-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/78001115/9a1b1e13c0-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0 us","author":"Dori","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Burnham_Athenaeum_Champaign_Illinois_4123.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:Burnham_Athenaeum_Champaign_Illinois_4123.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/28891808","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burnham_Athenaeum","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q17986165"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/illinois/champaign-county/burnham-athenaeum-78001115/"}