Browse Items (34 total)

This is the founding charter for The Urbana Free Library. The document is signed by all the member's of the Young Men's Library Association of Urbana, including Frederick Eubeling, Frank Jaques, and Samuel Busey.

These embossed stamps were found in the books lent out by the subscription library. They helped identify which books belonged to the new library

1908 pamphlet from the Urbana Commercial Club with the first mention of the proposed new library.

Tiernan’s Block, 115 W. Main St., the first official location of The Urbana Free Library. The library was on the second floor from 1872-1876. The building was remodeled by Joseph Royer in 1913.

Photo of the Urbana Lincoln Hotel at 209 S. Broadway Avenue taken in approximately the 1940s.

Photo of Urbana High School at 1002 S. Race St. The high school was designed by Joseph Royer and built in 1914.

Photo of The Urbana Free Library at 203 S. Race Street

Photo of The Urbana City Building at 107-109 S. Market St.

The Champaign County Courthouse shortly after opening. Note that the steeple of the courthouse was intact. It was lowered 85 feet in the 1950s as a result of lightning strikes and returned to it's original size in the early 2000s.

Portrait of the Busey family with Samuel T. Busey and Mary E. Busey