Sunny. High 56F. Winds SW at 10 to 15 mph..
Generally clear. Low 37F. Winds SW at 10 to 15 mph.
Updated: November 2, 2025 @ 1:40 pm
The chapel (above) and sanctuary (below left) at University Place Christian Church (below right) in Champaign.
Andrews
Andrews
The chapel (above) and sanctuary (below left) at University Place Christian Church (below right) in Champaign.
One of the most important missions of the Champaign County History Museum is to preserve the foundational narratives of our community.
We take on this task in many ways: stewarding artifacts, docenting tours, platforming searchable databases, and staging educational events.
For us, History On The Town is a highlight on our yearly calendar of events, because it represents an opportunity to host our members and patrons at a historic Champaign County landmark.
Just this past fall, History On the Town tipped its cap to the Orpheum Theatre.
There, our board of trustees invited guests to step behind the velvet rope: Our interns showcased their research and semester projects, and subcommittees were there to answer questions about what goes on behind the scenes.
But what makes History On The Town so special?
Unlike one of our guided weekend tours, History On The Town is a standalone showcase.
With this in mind, the history musem organizes and programs the event knowing that members and the Champaign County community would treat it like a special date.
Selecting a location for History On The Town is a careful consideration.
In the past, the history museum chose a location so our members could tour a special space they may have never had the chance to visit before.
Or, we’ve chosen a site that was itself celebrating a historic milestone.
In the case of last fall’s visit to the Orpheum, we knew this space held a deeply sentimental memory for many people in our community.
The Orpheum is a landmark site in the county, but for the occasion of History On The Town, members of our board acted as docents and led behind-the-scenes tours upstairs in the projection room.
In short, it was a chance to feature an old favorite space in a new and reverent way.
For the history museum, the bridge between historic landmark and collective memory hits an essential bullseye: We preserve the past by reflecting on our shared knowledge and experiences.
History On The Town is unique because it is an expression of what we do at the history museum — we share the educational reins of the event with the community, and often learn more from our visiting members by virtue of their own stories and experiences.
In this way, all of us deepen our appreciation of our community and its history.
Most recently, the history museum chose a site as a way to say “farewell”: University Place Christian Church.
On Sept. 14, the congregation will hold its last service in that historic location.
So on June 5, we were invited to be a part of the closing days.
We know from previous History On The Towns that when we visit historic landmarks, the sites themselves are physical anchors, but the history created within those walls is diffused widely into our community via the lived experience of our neighbors.
We were glad to hand over the expertise of this site to the congregation, because it is they who were both celebrating their church’s history as well as helping us understand why it was an iconic structure.
Without fail, History On The Town facilitates a chance for us to learn new things about each other and the community in which we live.
Most importantly, our museum is glad to expand our educational mission into spaces beyond our own historic building on University and First streets.
The history museum is proud to spotlight new and engaging exhibits at the Cattle Bank, but we are eager to meet our neighbors across Champaign County and in the spaces they care about the most.
Lindsay Andrews, Ph.D., is the chair of the Champaign County History Museum Education Committee. She can be reached at landrews@champaigncountyhistory.org.
Andrews
The next steps for a long-time church congregation on the UI campus … the story of Urbana’s “state streets” … a recent NOAA weather radio signal outage … and what happens to gym shoes that are tossed over power lines.
Update: JSM Living CEO Nathan Willard told The News-Gazette that “JSM, JSM Living, and all affiliates have no involvement in this project.” Additionally, a former University Place member is seeking to save the church from demolition by requesting that it be designated as a local landmark.
The News-Gazette mobile app brings you the latest local breaking news, updates, and more. Read the News-Gazette on your mobile device just as it appears in print.
Pick the brain of multimedia reporter Kathy Reiser.
Have a question for 25-year Vermilion County beat writer Jennifer Bailey? Submit them here and she’ll respond each Thursday.
Your browser is out of date and potentially vulnerable to security risks.
We recommend switching to one of the following browsers:
