Warm Air Research House
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Why it's listed
Built in 1924 on West Stoughton Street in Urbana, this two-and-one-half story Colonial Revival house was designed by University of Illinois affiliated architects L.H. Provine and C.A. Kissinger for the National Warm-Air Heating and Ventilating Association. It is a frame house with clapboard siding, its original copper shingle roof, a pilastered entrance with a broken-apex pediment, a sun room and a Palladian window. A circa 1933 garage is also part of the property. The house was built as a research residence, where heating and ventilation systems were tested in an occupied home. In the 1930s the work expanded to summer cooling, using ice and mechanical refrigeration units connected to the forced-air furnace. Studies showed that standard load calculations were too large, and that ice cooling of a house was cost prohibitive. Research stopped with World War II, after which the house was sold. Original kitchen cabinets, the breakfast nook and basement air-handling chases remain, and the house is now a single-family dwelling.
Significance in brief: The house served as a research facility where warm-air heating and later summer cooling were tested in a lived-in residence, in cooperation with the University of Illinois. Its research on ice-based and mechanical cooling in the 1930s is described in detail. The form recommends national significance.
Machine-generated summary. This summary was generated by a language model from the official nomination document and has not been reviewed line by line by an editor. It may contain errors. Check the source document before relying on any detail. Source: nomination document (PDF) · National Archives catalog entry. NRHP reference 01000595, listed June 12, 2001. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence medium).
Key facts
| Address | 1108 W. Stoughton St., Urbana |
|---|---|
| County | Champaign County |
| Listed | June 12, 2001 |
| Reference number | 01000595 |
| Resource type | Building |
| Architect / builder | L.H. Provine and C.A. Kissinger, University of Illinois affiliated architects |
| Architectural style | Colonial Revival |
| Areas of significance | Engineering, Architecture |
| Level of significance | National |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Currently used as a single-family dwelling. Original ductwork in the basement, kitchen cabinets, breakfast nook and other features survive. |
| Acreage | 0.9 |
| Coordinates | 40.11347, -88.22321 (NPS GIS) |
What listing means for this property
National Register listing is honorary for a privately owned home: it does not by itself restrict what an owner may do with their own money, and it does not require public access. Restrictions come from local landmark or historic-district ordinances, which are separate (how they differ).
Owner-occupied houses are not eligible for the 20% federal rehabilitation tax credit, which applies to income-producing buildings, but many states offer credits for homeowners. Listing also opens the door to preservation easements and to buying a plaque. Start with what listing means for homeowners, renovating a listed house and selling one.
General information, not legal or tax advice. Rules change; confirm with your State Historic Preservation Office or a qualified adviser.
Sources and further reading
- National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places database (snapshot May 2026), reference 01000595.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q18159140
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.