The Burnham Athenaeum, also known as the Champaign Public Library, is a historic library building located at 306 W. Church St. in Champaign,

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...

. Built in 1896 through a donation from Albert C. Burnham, the building was Champaign's first permanent library. Architect Julius A. Schweinfurth designed the

Classical Revival Neoclassical architecture is an architectural style produced by the Neoclassical movement that began in the mid-18th century in Italy and France. It became one of the most prominent architectural styles in the Western world. The prevailing style ...

building. The two-story building is built from cream-colored brick with

terra cotta Terracotta, terra cotta, or terra-cotta (; ; ), in its material sense as an earthenware substrate, is a clay-based unglazed or glazed ceramic where the fired body is porous. In applied art, craft, construction, and architecture, terracotta ...

ornamentation. The front entrance features four two-story

Ionic column The Ionic order is one of the three canonic orders of classical architecture, the other two being the Doric and the Corinthian. There are two lesser orders: the Tuscan (a plainer Doric), and the rich variant of Corinthian called the composite or ...

s supporting a

pediment Pediments are gables, usually of a triangular shape. Pediments are placed above the horizontal structure of the lintel, or entablature, if supported by columns. Pediments can contain an overdoor and are usually topped by hood moulds. A pedimen ...

and an inscribed frieze. A terra cotta band encircles the building below the second-story window sill line. The Champaign Public Library occupied the building until 1978, when it moved to a larger facility. The building was added to the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

on June 7, 1978.

References

Buildings and structures in Champaign, Illinois Libraries on the National Register of Historic Places in Illinois Library buildings completed in 1896 National Register of Historic Places in Champaign County, Illinois Neoclassical architecture in Illinois {{ChampaignCountyIL-NRHP-stub