National Register of Historic Places
Burgess-Osborne Memorial Auditorium
Mattoon, Coles County, Illinois
The record
- Listed
- March 9, 2018
- Type
- Building
- Address
- 1701 Wabash Ave., Mattoon
- County
- Coles
- State
- Illinois
- Contributing resources
- 1 building
- Coordinates
- 39.48019, -88.37554
- Reference number
- 100002149
Slide toward Today to fade the historical sheet and see the modern map underneath.
David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford LibrariesDavid Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford LibrariesDavid Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford LibrariesDavid Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford LibrariesBarry Lawrence Ruderman Map Collection, Stanford Libraries
The story
Written by AI from this property's National Register nomination and the record above; every sentence is checked against its sources before it appears here. Corrections: privacy@treealive.com
The Burgess-Osborne Memorial Auditorium is a building at 1701 Wabash Ave. in Mattoon, Coles County, Illinois, built in 1952-1953 in the Mid-century Modern style. St. Louis architect Oliver W. Stiegemeyer presented the plans in 1952, and Hart & Reilly General Contractors built it.
Why it's listed
It was listed under criteria A and C, with local-level significance in architecture, entertainment/recreation and social history. Its period of significance runs from 1953 to 1967, reflecting the building's completion and dedication in 1953.
Physical character
Exterior walls combine buff and pink brick with concrete block under a terra cotta tile roof with limestone coping, and a Crab Orchard sandstone pylon marks the entrance. Inside, walnut paneling lines the walls and the stage has a Georgia pine floor finished with high gloss varnish. In the 1980s the aluminum windows were replaced with more efficient units, and the clearstory windows were removed during an HVAC upgrade.
Historical context
In 1944 Emily Burgess-Osborne, for whom the building is named, established a $150,000 trust fund, and in 1950 the city spent $29,000 acquiring the two lots for the site. It served as an auditorium and meeting hall from its construction, still so when listed in the National Register in 2018.