{"nrhp_refnum":"91000572","name":"Unitarian Church of Urbana","other_names":["Channing--Murray Foundation"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"1209 W. Oregon St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Urbana","county":"Champaign County","state":"IL","lat":40.10665185500005,"lon":-88.22508444399995,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1991-05-13","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A two-story limestone, brick, wood and stucco church at 1209 West Oregon Street, Urbana, Illinois, built in 1908 on its original corner site across from the University of Illinois Quadrangle. It is also known as Channing-Murray Chapel.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the church is an intact example of the standardized church plans in the American Unitarian Association's 1903 pamphlet Plans for Churches. It is the oldest surviving building of a design by Walter C. Root, whose Kansas City original burned in 1957. University of Illinois architecture leaders such as Nathan C. Ricker were involved in its construction, and it was the first church at the university built specifically for campus ministry.","narrative":"Built in 1908 at the corner of Oregon and Mathews Streets in Urbana, this small church was designed in a modified Tudor Revival style with rough limestone walls, stucco and half-timbering, and a corner tower. Its domestic scale reflects the American Unitarian Association's wish that church architecture echo home life. The plan came from the association's 1903 booklet Plans for Churches and was drawn by Walter C. Root, whose first version in Kansas City burned in 1957, leaving Urbana as the oldest surviving example. University of Illinois professors Nathan C. Ricker, Rexford Newcomb and Newton A. Wells, all founding members, guided construction and decoration. Inside, a timber-trussed sanctuary, green and amber cat's paw glass from Kokomo, Indiana, and a fireplace room remain. The church was also the first at the university built specifically for campus ministry, with Boston headquarters paying most of the cost. It has changed little since opening.","period_of_significance":"1908","architect_builder":"Root, Walter C.; Smith, C.F., contractor","architectural_style":"Gothic; Bungalow/Craftsman; Tudor Revival (modified Tudor Revival)","criteria":["C"],"status_note":"Still used as a religious structure, auditorium and meeting hall; occupied by the Channing-Murray Foundation, with windows and art glass restored in recent years.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:55:35.293722-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/94/8917/28891794/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_IL/91000572.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/91000572/d0056320dd-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/91000572/d0056320dd-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 4.0","author":"Beyond My Ken","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Channing-Murray_Foundation_Unitarian_Universalist_Chapel_Urbana_Illinois.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Beyond My Ken</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 4.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Channing-Murray_Foundation_Unitarian_Universalist_Chapel_Urbana_Illinois.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/28891794","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Channing-Murray_Foundation","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7887191"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/illinois/champaign-county/unitarian-church-of-urbana-91000572/"}