University of Illinois Facilities and Services

National Register of Historic Places
Today’s Name	Historic Name	Building Number
1101 W. St Mary’s Road, Urbana	1101 W. St Mary’s Road, Urbana	858
Altgeld Hall	Library Hall	26
Busey Hall	Busey Hall	111
Dairy Experimental Round Barns	Dairy Experimental Round Barns	855, 856, 857
Evans Hall	Evans Hall	115
Louise Freer Hall	Louise Freer Hall	64
Harker Hall	Chemical Building	25
Kenney Gym	Men’s Gymnasium	21
Kenney Gym Annex	Military Drill Hall	5
Library	Library	41
Mumford House	Farm House	125
Natural History Building	Natural History Building	32
Observatory	Astronomical Observatory	33
Smith Memorial Hall	Tina Weedon Smith Memorial Music Hall	60

National Historic Landmarks
Today’s Name	Historic Name
Morrow Plots	Morrow Plots
Observatory	Astronomical Observatory

This is the first map showing the University’s land holdings, uses of land, and the location of several early buildings.

This map, prepared by Professor Harold Hansen, shows a proposed location for University Hall surrounded by an informal park landscape. The park is bisected by two streets (Green Street & Springfield Avenue), has an axial walk (Burrill Avenue), and other fashionable romantic features (paths, ponds, and the creek) — all characteristics of that era of park design. Only portions of this plan were implemented.

Prepared by students, this map indicates the rapidly maturing informal landscape of the park and arboretum as Green Street becomes the division between the two major land uses of the campus: military and academics.

Prepared by students, this map indicates fencing, marked crossings at Green Street, and two major buildings, Chemical Laboratory (Harker Hall) and University Hall, that begin to form the oval south of the arboretum.

Prepared by students, this map indicates the plantings of the elms, directed by Professor Burrill, along the northern and southern parts of the axial walk, later to become Burrill Avenue. This axial element is still evident on today’s campus as a boardwalk on the west side of the Quad. The open space to the northwest of University Hall was the site selected for Library Hall (Altgeld Hall). After Library Hall was constructed, it completed the collection of buildings on the southern edge of the arboretum forming the once familiar oval shape of the University’s front lawn.

This plan, commonly referred to as the Blackall-Olmsted Plan, was the first formal “Master Plan” of the University. It included specific locations for future buildings and directed the evolution of today’s Quadrangle (commonly referred to as the Quad) by recommending the placement of the auditorium at the southern terminus of the large open space south of University Hall.

This map indicates the once familiar “row” of brick buildings lining Burrill Avenue between Green Street and Springfield Avenue, four major buildings south of the University’s lawn facing the internal, lushly planted, pastoral open space of the central campus, and the four buildings arranged in a half oval, facing the informal lawn to the north.

This is the first plan to be prepared by University staff and was used as the point of departure for the Burnham Campus Plan Commission. The Quad area essentially adheres to the 1905 Blackall arrangement. The graphic projecting the increase in students and equipment needs necessary to support them is an interesting feature.

Blackall’s second plan is the first of many plans prepared from data gathered in 1910 for the use in the Burnham Campus Plan Commission. It may be seen as one of many formal plans where romantic, naturalistic, informal styles were abandoned in favor of the formal and classical design criteria of Beaux Arts planning. It suggests considerable future development on land not owned by the University and departs from approaching the campus from Green Street in favor of an approach along Healy Street.

Another one of many formal plans where romantic, naturalistic, informal styles were abandoned in favor of the formal and classical design criteria of Beaux Arts planning that is evident by the use of an east-west axis extending to the railroad with a secondary north-south axis near the west boundary of campus. The pressing planning issues were identifying locations for the proposed Armory and Stock Judging Pavilion. On January 24, 1912, the Burnham Campus Plan Commission used this plan as the basis for discussion.

Another one of many plans utilizing the formal and classical Beaux Arts planning design criteria that is evident by the a large east-west vista extending to the railroad. This large open space was made possible by locating the Armory on the axis of Fifth Street just south of Armory Avenue. This placement allowed westward building expansion that did not interfere with existing agricultural plots and is the first plan to suggest campus expansion into the nearby cemetery.

Another example of the formal and classical design criteria of Beaux Arts planning. This plan represents development ideas that were refined in many of Professor White’s 1912 campus plan submittals and suggestions of the Burnham Campus Plan Commission.

Continuing the Beaux Arts planning ideas, this plan is based on the framework of previous plans and was prepared under White’s supervision. A variety of structures were later located in conformity with this plan including, the new library terminating Wright Street, dormitory sites along Nevada Street, the new school of education on Springfield Avenue, and a vivarium group on Healy Street.

This study was completed by L. D. Tilton in the Supervising Architect’s Office. The nucleus remains the main Quad in front of the Auditorium. New development ideas include: a new administration building just south of Green Street, two large buildings terminating the east-west axis, boulevard treatment of Green Street, creation of an engineering quad, traffic arrangements to relieve automobile congestion, the men’s group north of the Armory, and the most distinctive feature of the plan, the great area of the Military Field.

Platt’s plan retained the main feature the north-south axis with a Quad and South Quad as previous plans suggested. Giving order to open spaces is suggested by creating clusters of buildings aligned on a series of east-west axes and shows how far this scheme could be carried without modifying the basic elements of plan. The east-west axis was modified to extend to the new boundaries of the campus and suggests a large building at the intersection of the main north-south and east-west axes.

This plan is a revision of the 1922 plan and was adhered to (with few exceptions) for the next few decades. It assured that the campus would have a visual continuity for buildings, plantings, and open spaces during that period.

his plan, prepared by Richardson, Severns and Associates, Architects, was based on seventeen planning principles, some of which include:

• retain the basic mall concept,
• develop the east-west mall,
• establish colleges in proper relationship with respect to student movement and administrative functions, and
• use open spaces opposite building masses to provide contrast and visual space movement throughout campus.

This plan, prepared by Sasaki Associates, Inc., is intended to guide the growth and development of the entire campus into the next century. It creatively extends the historic north-south axis, reinforces the two (north-south and east-west) axes, uses open spaces that reflect the interests of pedestrians by creating spaces similar to the Quad, and links the north and south campus by creating visual corridors. The quality of landscaping is also reinforced by extensive street tree planting and the creation of several new smaller mini quads.