The New Building

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Photo of Tuscan Court apartments circa 1968-70 courtesy Doug Houston.

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Tuscan Court

Photo by Perry C. Morris

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Opera House Apartments

Photo by Perry C. Morris

Quoting the Champaign News-Gazette of Wednesday 9 January 1929: “Albert H. Flowers on Wednesday commenced foreclosure proceedings in the circuit court against the Zenith Amusement company, a branch of the Ku Klux Klan, that owns the Illinois theater destroyed by fire more than a year ago.  The amount is $15,000.  A portion of the walls of the building are still standing and are in excellent shape.” 1

The Champaign News-Gazette reported on 14 February, 1930, that the lot, along with the still standing wall containing an estimated half-million brick, was sold, under foreclosure proceedings by the master in chancery, to Henry B. Stein. 2

Plans to build the Tuscan Court, twelve units of townhouses in the remaining shell of the still-standing outer walls of the Illinois Theatre, were announced in the Champaign News-Gazette on 14 February 1930. 

Doug Houston lived in the Tuscan Court in 1968-70.  He said “The complex had great character, which cannot be said for what replaced it” He also shared that was the “best place I had in the time I was an undergrad at the U of I.  The building backed up to the Bone Yard in the rear, but with room for a bbq and to park a couple of cars.  All units shared a common basement running under the building itself” …which “was filled with old furniture and other junk—tenants helped themselves to what they needed.” 4

The Tuscan Court stood for several decades and was eventually replaced by a more modern three-story apartment and office building,