Unitarian Church of Urbana, 1209 West Oregon Street, Urbana, Champaign County, IL

2011 Charles E. Peterson Prize, Entry
Significance: The Unitarian Church of Urbana was built in 1908 and designed by Walter Root. This church was the first at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign that was specifically built for the purpose of housing a campus ministry. Walter C. Root was a prominent architect in the Kansas City, MO area, and worked extensively throughout Kansas as well. He was the younger brother of the famous John Root of the architecture firm Burnham and Root and for a period of about six years worked for his office. The project was also completed under the supervision of Nathan Ricker, the first person to graduate with a degree in architecture in the United States and first dean of the School of Architecture at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign.
Unprocessed Field note material exists for this structure: N1695
Survey number: HABS IL-290
Building/structure dates: 1908 Initial Construction