Urbana was alive this past weekend as it welcomed visitors to the 25th annual Historic Home & Garden Tour! The Champaign County Preservation Alliance wishes to thank all those individuals who made this happen. Viewing a home that had escaped demolition, a home purchased from a Sears Roebuck catalog and five floors of awesome living space created from an 1877 Universalist Church, the visitor traveled through a wide variety of architectural styles, sizes and ages of homes to discover the feasibility of adapting the older structures to the needs of the 21st century – all without destroying the character of the structure.
The CCPA is extremely grateful to the home and garden owners, the Champaign County Historical Society, the Johnny Appleseed Museum, and the Renewed Strength Church – who opened their doors for the public to experience preservation firsthand. This is a great commitment on their part and we appreciate their generosity. Thank you!
The CCPA would be unable to sponsor this event without the monetary support of the entire community and we offer a special thank you to our benefactors, Bundy Baking Solutions and The Peoples Savings Bank, our home sponsors, patrons, special friends, contributors and those who purchased ads in our program booklet.
Our 336 volunteers who served as guides at each site and those who drove the shuttle vans truly make this event possible. We could not offer this tour without your help – it is a community event and we appreciate your support!
To Urbana Mayor Bill Bean, Director of Administration Kerry Brugger, and Colin Stein and the gentlemen of the street department, we sincerely appreciate your help with our banners, signs, welcome tent, the use of the city facilities and the parking lot.
The Urbana Daily Citizen did an outstanding job with the separate tab edition and feature articles both before and after the event. Our thanks to Brenda Burns, Kathy Fox, Lane Moon and staff for their help and cooperation with the coverage of our event.
Many thanks to the local auto agencies for the loan of the shuttle vans, our local florists for the outstanding flowers, Boldman’s for their work on the ticket booklet, area businesses for their advertising, and help with our pre-sale tickets and all the craft persons, entertainers and civic groups who participated.
Our hats off to the excellent tour committee who dedicated hundreds of hours to ensure a fun-filled, memorable weekend for those who came to experience Urbana’s hospitality. They are one awesome group!
