A Fire that Shook Downtown Champaign

By Joe Griffith

Fig 1: Christmas Card created by Christopher Evans circa 1997

Champaign County has a history of devastating fires that have reshaped downtown, bringing destruction and new opportunities in their wake. These fires have become ingrained into the story of the county's development, from the 1800s to the present. One of the most destructive was the Illinois Building fire of 1915, which according to newspaper coverage at the time destroyed numerous buildings and businesses “from the corner of Neil and Taylor Streets to First South Street” (1). Damages were estimated at between $350,000 and $500,000 (2), or between $10,000,000 and $15,500,000 adjusted for inflation. This would not be the last time the town was transformed through fire. Multiple large blazes ravaged downtown Champaign in the 70s and 80s in particular, destroying historic buildings such as the Kiler building and the Gallenkamp shoe store building in consecutive fires in 1972 (3).The most recent historic building lost to these fires, and the main focus of this article, was the Metropolitan Building on the corner of Church and Neil Streets which burned to the ground in an intense fire on November 7th, 2008. 

Fig 2: Neil Street looking South, Metropolitan Building Center Right

Originally constructed around 1871 and known as the Bailey-Ruggs Building, the Metropolitan Building was registered on the National Register of Historic Places in 1997 (4).The building had a storied past in the history of the county, being one of Champaign’s oldest standing buildings before the 2008 fire brought it down. It was built with the support of David Bailey and Daniel Rugg, the two men whom the building was originally named for, to house their respective storefronts including Rugg’s Boot and Shoe Store and Faulkner’s Drug Store (5). Since then the building has gone through a succession of different owners and housed a variety of resident businesses and storefronts. The building has held an opera house, clothing and fashion stores, restaurants, and even a campaign office for Dwight Green’s run for Governor in the 1940s (6). Its most recent owners, Jeff Melander, Bob Balisrud, and George Grubb, purchased the building in 2006, which by that point had long since past its heyday, with much of the building sitting unused. They had planned to conduct large-scale renovations to the building which remained faithful to its historic look and feel, while also planning to install modern luxury apartments in the empty second and third floors(7).

Fig 3: Metropolitan Building Fire

Unfortunately, on the cold winter morning of November 7th, 2008, their plans were halted when the blaze began at around 5:00 A.M. The fire itself was immense. The flames reached 100 feet in the air and the heat was so intense that firefighters on the scene reported the water sprayed at the building was evaporating before it could dampen the fire. The damage was estimated to be around 3.5 million dollars, including more minor damage to six neighboring buildings (8). Small fires ignited at the neighboring Orpheum Children’s Science Museum and the local Jim Gould’s restaurant, but these were swiftly put out by the responding firefighters (9). The damage done by the fire was not limited to the physical building. The loss of such a historic structure is a pain all its own for a town with such a historic past as Champaign. The outpouring of support for the loss of the building is evidence of this fact. For example, the News-Gazette ran an article that asked the community to recount their memories of the building. The paper received responses from Champaign-Urbana residents whose stories originated from the 1920s to the 1990s and reminisced on the cafes, shoe stores, diners, and other residents throughout the building’s lifetime. Respondents also expressed their sadness at the loss of the building, with one resident stating “I still have not been downtown to look; probably won't go for a long time” (10). There was also a longer-term economic impact on surrounding businesses. Due in part to conflicting insurance claims amongst the various damages and losses accrued by the fire, it took more than three months to fully demolish the remnants of the building. During that time the city had to place roadblocks around the wreckage, and coupled with the 2008 recession smaller businesses around the ruins suffered as traffic to their businesses was hampered by the roadblocks (11). The fire’s origin remains unknown, as the site was too dangerous after the fire for officials to conduct a proper investigation. Later investigations came up as inconclusive (12).

Fig 4: Metropolitan Building Fire Aftermath

The 2008 fire was not an incident that solely affected the Champaign-Urbana area and its residents. The fire required many of the ladder and engine trucks assigned to both the Champaign and Urbana Fire departments to effectively contain the blaze. Calls for aid were sent to surrounding fire departments and volunteer crews to help ensure there was adequate coverage in case of other fires or emergencies across both counties. Engine crews from the Savoy Fire Department, the Cornbelt Fire Protection District, and the Edge-Scott Fire Protection District were stationed in Champaign whilst an engine from the St. Joseph-Stanton Fire Protection District and Carroll Fire Protection Districts went to Urbana(13). Edward Mennenga, who was a volunteer with the Savoy Fire Department at the time, echoed the unique nature of the call for aid. “It's rare, or was rare, for Champaign or Urbana to ever call for mutual aid from anyone other than each other, so it was a unique event from the experience of the surrounding departments.” (14). The rarity of these mutual aid calls is a testament to the extent of the size and danger the 2008 fire posed and the efforts that were required to put it out. 

Thankfully the story of the Metropolitan Building does not have an entirely melancholy ending. As with many of the fires that have reshaped the county, from the ashes of the Metropolitan Building new opportunities emerged. On the grounds, the Hyatt Place, a modern hotel building opened its doors June 24th, 2014. The building has been largely welcomed by the community, in no small part due to the economic opportunities it provides to the surrounding downtown businesses. In an article in the Daily Illini reporting on the opening of the new hotel, several local business owners and community leaders expressed as much. Lois Wacholtz of Christopher’s Fine Jewelry Design said “It’s cleaned up that corner after that fire and the loss of the old building…The hotel will generate a whole new set of potential customers.” (15). Although nothing can replace the old Metropolitan Building, Hyatt Place fills the hole in downtown left by the devastation caused on November 7th, 2008.

Bibliography

1. Unknown author, “Half Million Loss in Champaign Fire”, The Daily Illini (Champaign-Urbana, IL), March 18th, 1915, pages 1 and 4, https://idnc.library.illinois.edu/?a=d&d=DIL19150318.2.1&e=-------en-20-DIL-1--txt-txIN-%22Fire%22----1915----- 

2. Unknown, “Half”, pages 1 and 4

3. Tom Kacich, "Champaign has long history of being reshaped by fire.", The News-Gazette (Champaign-Urbana, IL), November 19, 2008: A-3, NewsBank: Access World News.

4. Michael Feltes, “The Buildings in Your Neighborhood: The Metropolitan”, Smile Politely (Champaign-Urbana), July 27th, 2009, https://www.smilepolitely.com/culture/these_are_the_buildings_in_your_neighborhood_the_metropolitan/ 

5. Fentes, “Buildings”.

6. Fentes, “Buildings”.

7. Preservation and Conservation Association, “A Crown Jewel Lost”, Preservation and Conservation Association (Champaign, IL), September-October 2008, Volume 28.

8. Jay K. Bradish, “On The Job: ILLINOIS”, Firehouse, December 29th, 2009, https://www.firehouse.com/home/article/10468912/on-the-job-illinois

9. Unknown author, “Fire destroys downtown Champaign building”, The Daily Illini (Champaign-Urbana, IL), November 7th, 2008, https://dailyillini.com/news-stories/2008/11/07/fire-destroys-downtown-champaign-building/

10. Unknown author, “Recalling a Grand Lady”, The News Gazette (Champaign-Urbana, IL), November 17th, 2008, https://www.news-gazette.com/news/metropolitan-building-visitors-revisit-memories-of-grand-lady/article_488499f8-9b41-5bb0-b1a0-4e13a12cb688.html

11. Eric Allgood, “Roadblocks on Neil Inhibit Business”, The Daily Illini (Champaign-Urbana IL), January 26th, 2009, Volume 138, Number 86, https://idnc.library.illinois.edu/?a=d&d=DIL20090126-01.1.1&srpos=1&e=-------en-20-DIL-1--txt-txIN-Metropolitan+Fire-PAGE---2009-----

12. Bradish, “ILLINOIS”

13. Bradish, “ILLINOIS”

14. Edward Mennenga, email message to author, January 31st, 2024

15. Abrar Al-Heeti, “Hyatt Place opens in downtown Champaign”, The Daily Illini (Champaign-Urbana IL), June 24th, 2014, https://dailyillini.com/uncategorized/2014/06/24/hyatt-place-opens-in-downtown-champaign/