The circa 1910 “Then” photo (#A2284) is of the Egenberger Building at 114-116 S. Main St., Urbana. The Egenberger Bakery & Restaurant was on the first floor. The third floor was the meeting place of Harmony Lodge No. 8 F&AM from 1882 until moving to its current location at 222 N. Main St. in 1916. When the lodge first moved to this building in 1882 it was called the Houston Building.
On June 24, 1898, the Houston Building burned; the lodge rooms and second floor office rooms were gutted. The lodge financed the rebuilding of the second and third floors. At that time Masonic symbols were added above the third-floor windows. There are visible today.
The Champaign County Historical Society gratefully acknowledges information provided by Robert Pollock.
The 2019 “Now” photo is of the same location. Cox Shotokan Karate currently occupies the first floor.