Yesterday the University of Illinois Facebook page shared this cool photo of the university, courtesy of the Student Life and Culture Archives. Here’s the description and full image:
Circa 1873, this photo was taken south of Green Street looking north across Green Street, the Silver Creek (Boneyard Creek), and the Champaign and Urbana Horse Railroad. The University’s first building—”The Elephant”—is on the left, and the old Mechanical Building is on the right.
Here’s a little history of “the Elephant” which was the only campus building when Illinois Industrial University opened in 1869.