President's House

Throughout the University's history, four buildings have held the title of President's House. The first was designed by S. S. Beman [1] and finished in 1896 for a cost of $15,000. [2] Located where the modern Everitt is, [3] its proximity to the North Greenhouse led to its alternative name as the President's Greenhouse. In 1917, when the new President's house was purchased, it became the Health Service center. [4]

It was followed by a house at 1103 West Nevada Street in Urbana which was purchased in 1917 [5] for $17,152.25. [6] Adorned with an "old fashioned trellis-walled garden", the ten-room, two-story stucco house was built in the "modern English style". [7]

In 1930 construction was underway for the third house. Designed by Charles Platt and James White, the residence cost $150,000 fully furnished. [8]

Today the President's House is located on Florida Avenue. Despite its grand appearance, the new house has been plagued with lawn problems. For more than a decade, the "front lawn of campus" has been infested with a soil-born parasite that continues to kill off the grass every two years. In 1996, the lawn was resoded and a $90,000 underground sprinkler system installed, to no avail, leaving the University no choice but to continue resodding it every few years. [9]