The Champaign City Building serves as a symbol of the city, with its likeness featured on the city logo. Designated a Champaign Landmark on July 18, 2005,
the ornate decoration,
art deco
Art Deco, short for the French ''Arts Décoratifs'', and sometimes just called Deco, is a style of visual arts, architecture, and product design, that first appeared in France in the 1910s (just before World War I), and flourished in the Unite ...
architecture, and copper roof distinguish the building as one of the most recognizable in downtown
Champaign
Champaign ( ) is a city in Champaign County, Illinois, United States. The population was 88,302 at the 2020 census. It is the tenth-most populous municipality in Illinois and the fourth most populous city in Illinois outside the Chicago metropo ...
. The main inspiration for the building's art deco design was
Los Angeles City Hall
Los Angeles City Hall, completed in 1928, is the center of the government of the city of Los Angeles, California, and houses the mayor's office and the meeting chambers and offices of the Los Angeles City Council. It is located in the Civic Cente ...
.
History
Land for the original City Hall was donated to the city of Champaign in 1888 by David Bailey, who was a charter founder of the First National Bank of Champaign. It is believed that he donated the land due to the lot's odd shape, and his inability to develop the land. Bailey also insisted that the city must develop a building worth no less than $5,000 within a year of his donation. The city, in turn, built a multi-purpose structure that housed the Police and Fire Departments, an auditorium, a library, and a chamber and meeting room for the City Council.
Within almost 40 years, the building was in such poor condition that the City Council voted to demolish the multi-purpose building and in its place the current City Building was constructed from 1935-1937.
Current use
Currently, the City Building serves as Champaign's City Hall and includes the City Council Chambers and administrative offices.
References
External links
City of Champaign's WebsiteState of Illinois Database for Municipality Landmarks
{{Champaign, Illinois
Buildings and structures in Champaign, Illinois