English Building (University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign)
Academic building
The English Building, previously known as the Woman's Building and Bevier Hall, is a historic structure on the campus of the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. It is located on the west side of the Main Quad between Lincoln Hall and the Henry Administration Building. The original portion of the English Building, designed by McKim, Mead & White, was completed in 1905 and expanded in 1913 and 1924. The distinctive columned front, which faces the Main Quad, dates to the 1913 addition. Since 1956, the English Building has been home to the university's Department of English.
History
Until 1940
The English Building, originally known as the Woman's Building, was dedicated on October 16, 1905. The dedication doubled as the installation ceremony for incoming University of Illinois president Edmund Janes James. The original portion of the building, with a central mass along Wright Street and two side wings, was designed in the Georgian Revival style by prominent architectural firm McKim, Mead & White. The firm had previously designed academic buildings at institutions including Columbia University, University of Virginia, and the University Heights campus of New York University.
Originally, the north wing of the Woman's Building was home to the Household Science Department (later called the Department of Home Economics).
“English Building (University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign)” enters the record as academic building. Crown Archives preserves that source wording while asking what English, Building and University can confirm, complicate or overturn.
Why this record matters
“English Building (University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign)” is worth following because a concise public description often conceals a longer documentary argument. Here, English, Building and University provides the most credible route into that argument.
The strongest evidence will usually combine a dated visual record with documents produced by the authority responsible for the place. The source revision retrieved here is dated Jul 16, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q106882634. Authority coordinates are 40.108, -88.228. None of the 1 selected statements returned an explicit reference. The first chronological checks are 1905, 1913, 1924 and 1956.
A single description cannot reconcile every naming convention, rebuilding phase or administrative transfer associated with a place. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Treat names, boundaries and functions as historically changeable. Maps, plans, inventories and administrative records can clarify what the place meant at different dates.
- Historic place names
- Jurisdictional context
- Routes into maps and plans
Contemporary maps, plans, listed-building records, estate papers and the responsible local or national archive.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “English Building (University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign)”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow English Building (University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign) primary sources, English Building (University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign) archive and English research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “English Building (University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign)”?
- Which authority defined the place, boundary or structure at the relevant date?
- Which earlier names or jurisdictions may reveal additional records?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “English Building (University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign)” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.