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Joseph Royer, Architect
The photograph above is of Joseph Royer, the architect of the old part of the Urbana High School building. He was born in 1873 in Urbana, and graduated from both the Urbana High School and the nearby University of Illinois. He was well known in the town and was responsible for the designs of many of Urbana's finest buildings.
The
Champaign County Courthouse was built in 1901 and was actually an addition
to the previous courthouse on the same site, but only a few of the old
walls were used in the construction of this current courthouse. The courthouse,
like Urbana High School, has been changed drastically throughout the years.
It originally featured a large atrium with a sky light. The sky light,
although still visible from the outside, no longer lets in light, as it
has been covered up.
In 1949, the central tower was struck and damaged by lightning, and a portion of it was removed, as pictured to the left. It was struck again in 1952, so the rest of the tower was removed to just above the clock, as it is today. Funds are currently being allocated to restore the courthouse tower to its original height.
The Sheriff's house stood right next to the courthouse. It was built as a jail in 1906 and was designed to complement the courthouse instead of creating a competitive miniature replica of it next door. It was recently demolished to make way for a large addition to the courthouse itself.
The Samuel T. Busey Memorial Library was built in 1918 and was funded by Mary Busey in remembrance of her husband, Samuel T. Busey. Today, it is called the Urbana Free Library. An addition is currently being built in the style of the original structure.
The Urbana Lincoln Hotel was built in 1924 and was funded by a group of local businessmen who bought shares in the hotel. The hotel became world renowned throughout the 1930s and 40s, but by the 1950s it came under very bad disrepair. A shopping mall was built right outside the front door of the hotel and at one point, it was even scheduled for demolition. The hotel was saved by James Jumer, who bought the hotel in 1976 and restored it according to the original blueprints. A pool and convention center were added in 1982. The hotel is still open today for guests under new management as the Historic Urbana Lincoln.
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Other Royer buildings in Champaign-Urbana include the Knolton-Bennett Building on the corner of Main and Race streets in Urbana; Royer's residence (white stucco, red trim) on the corner of Busey and Oregon streets in Urbana;
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. . . the "Illinois Traction Station" building (dark, red brick with white, stone ornaments) on University avenue in downtown Champaign, which was formerly used as the main building for the Illinois Power Company;
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. . .and the Howard Apartments on Race street in Urbana, near Lincoln Square.
Joseph Royer's firm designed numerous public schools, both in Illinois and Iowa. The following is a list of some of those schools. Some of them became too small over the years and were converted to be used by other levels of education, but many are still standing.
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Arcola Township High School Erected 1914-15 Normal cost 15 cents per square foot Maximum pupil capacity - 400-450 Go to the photo gallery for this school (7 images) |
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Bloom Township High School In Chicago Heights, Illinois Erected 1931-1934 Information about their historic, art deco school can be found at: |
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Dixon High School Erected 1928-29 Normal cost 28.8 cents per square foot Maximum pupil capacity - 1197-1316 Find them on the web at http://mail.dps.k12.il.us/dhs/ Go to the photo gallery for this school (4 images) |
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Downers Grove Community High School Erected 1928-29 Normal cost 30.3 cents per square foot Maximum pupil capacity - 705-775 Go to the photo gallery for this school (2 images) |
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Dubuque Jefferson Jr. High School (Iowa) Erected 1922-23 Normal cost 25-4 cents per square foot Click to enlarge the thumbnail at the left |
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Dubuque Senior High School (Iowa) Erected 1922-23 Normal cost 30.3 cents per square foot Maximum pupil capacity - 1305-1435 Go to the photo gallery for this school (7 images) |
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Dubuque Washington Jr. High School (Iowa) Erected 1922-23 Normal Cost 25.0 cents per square foot |
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Eureka Township High School Erected 1926-27 Normal cost 25.9 cents per square foot Maximum pupil capacity - 452-480 Go the the photo gallery for this school (8 images) |
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Freeport Senior High School Erected 1925-26 Normal cost 25 cents per square foot Maximum pupil capacity - 1944-2148 Find them on the web at http://www.freeport.k12.il.us/highschool/hs.cfm Go to the photo gallery for this school (13 images) |
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Geneva Community High School Erected 1922-23 Normal cost - 24.8 cents per square foot Maximum pupil capacity - 350-400 Go to the photo gallery for this school (6 images) |
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Jacksonville High School Erected - 1920-21 Normal cost - 30 cents per square foot Maximum pupil capacity - 1156-1271 Find them on the web at http://morgan.k12.il.us/jvillehs/ Go to the photo gallery for this school (23 images) |
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Mahomet Community High School Erected 1920-21 Normal cost - 21 cents per square foot Maximum pupil capacity - 320-352 Now the Middletown Early Childhood Center Go to the photo gallery for this school (3 images) |
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Monticello Community High School Moore Memorial Gymnasium Erected 1925-26 Go to the photo gallery for this building (4 images) |
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Paxton Community High School Erected - 1925-26 Normal Cost - 23 cents per square foot Maximum pupil capacity - 324-356 Find them on the web at http://www.pblunit10.com/index.html Go to the photo gallery for this school (5 images) |
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Washington Junior High School, Pekin, Illinois Erected 1929-1930 Cost per CU FT 28.8¢ Pupil capacity 596 Now the Washington Intermediate School Go to the photo gallery for this school (7 images) |
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Polo Community High School Erected 1926-27 Normal cost -29 cents per square foot Maximum pupil capacity - 350-400 Go to the photo gallery for this school (10 images) |
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Pontiac Township High School Erected 1923-24 Go to the photo gallery for this school (7 images) |
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Princeton Township High School Erected 1925-26 Normal cost 27.2 cents per square foot Maximum pupil capacity - 693-672 Find them on the web at http://www.phs-il.org/ Go to the photo gallery for this school (11 images) |
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Rantoul Township High School Original portion (pictured) **DEMOLISHED** 2001 1952 gymnasium addition designed by Royer remains, as well as 1956 addition (not Royer) Go to the photo gallery for this school (1 image) |
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Sandwich Community High School Erected 1921-22 Normal cost 24.8 cents per square foot Maximum pupil capacity - 438-481 Find them on the web at http://www.sandwich.il.us/education.html Go to the photo gallery for this school (5 images) |
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Villa-Grove Township High School Erected 1919-20 Go to the photo gallery for this school (5 images) |
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Virden Community High School Erected 1922-23 Normal cost 25 cents per square foot Maximum pupil capacity - 320-352 Find them on the web at http://www.virdenschools.com/ |
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