Chambana Secrets
Here is this week’s column. I had a list of about 30 things I wanted to include as Champaign-Urbana’s best kept secrets, but there’s only so much you can do with 750 words.
I’d love to hear other people’s C-U favorites!
It’s a starry, autumn night. You’re strolling along the Quad with your best friend or significant other. While deep in conversation about the meaning of life, you stumble upon one of campus’s best-kept secrets. It’s hidden behind a cluster of cherry blossom trees: the Chem Annex fire escape. You have passed by it every day for the last few years and never thought twice about it, but the top of this staircase offers one of the most beautiful views of campus and one of the best places to sit and talk.
Champaign-Urbana is full of hidden gems. It took me three years to find most of them, and now that I’m graduating, I feel compelled to share.
One night during my freshman year, a few of us decided to pay a visit to Allerton Park. It was about 11 p.m., the leaves had just started to fall, and Halloween was approaching. We knew the park closed at dusk, but we thought it was worth a shot.
After a short drive to Monticello, we were pleased to find that the road leading to the Allerton Mansion was not closed off. We parked in the gravel lot and took a stroll through the pitch black trails where, even with a flashlight, we couldn’t see more than 10 feet in front of us.
Before long, I noticed two bright headlights following us in the distance. It was scarier than any horror movie I’ve ever seen, and completely worth the stern warning we received from the park security. If you aren’t into the pee-in-your-pants-scary thing, Allerton is just as pretty during the day as it is creepy at night. There are acres and acres of forest, gardens and ponds awaiting visitors.
While we’re on the subject of nighttime destinations, the rooftop at Krannert is a hidden treasure. If you climb the steps of the outdoor amphitheater, you can access the Krannert rooftop and get a beautiful view of campus.
And while you’re there, check out some of the unbelievable discounts that we receive as UI students. The Russian National Ballet, the Symphony Orchestra, jazz shows and wine tasting are just a few examples of the amazing programming offered by Krannert.
But Krannert isn’t the only place to see great performances. Champaign-Urbana offers an incredible local music scene. When my roommate, Lauren Noone, was the host of WPGU’s “Inner Limits,” I was exposed to the amazing bands that call this community home. From Cowboy Monkey to Canopy to the Highdive, there are local performers scattered around C-U nearly every night. Though my favorite DJ no longer hosts “Inner Limits,” Joe Smyth does a great job of showcasing local talent on 107.1 on Sundays at 9 p.m.
I discovered my favorite local music performance inadvertently while studying at Café Kopi.
It was a Saturday night, and I was sitting at a table outside when I noticed two middle-aged men setting up shop across the street. They spent the next four hours playing classic rock and alternative music from the ’80s and ’90s, accepting coins and dollar bills from passers-by. If you’re lucky, you’ll get to hear street performers and meet Jen in the same night. A philosopher and poet who frequents Café Kopi, Jen offers some interesting insight and great conversation.
As winter approaches, and places like the rooftop of Krannert and the sidewalk outside Kopi become less viable, we’ll be seeking out hot beverages and indoor hangouts. As a non-coffee drinker, and self-proclaimed hot chocolate connoisseur, I would call Za’s hot chocolate the best on campus.
If you’re looking for a nice meal to break up your winter routine, try Milo’s in Urbana. It recently moved to the intersection of Philo and Windsor roads, but the food is still great.
On my first visit, I was intrigued by the upside-down pizza, a unique approach to a college staple. It is cooked upside down in a bowl, with the dough forming an air bubble over the ingredients. When the server brings it to the table, he cuts it out of the bowl and flips it onto your plate. Gastronomically brilliant.
And finally, the best-kept secret of campus: life north of Green Street. Leasing a house up north is ideal – it’s two blocks from Green Street bars, three blocks from the Quad, it’s relatively quiet on weekends, and it does not smell like a frat house. What more could you ask for?
After three and a half years in Champaign-Urbana, these simple pleasures have defined my UI experience. I challenge you to take advantage of your time in the C-U, and discover some secrets of your own.
Comment by Todd on 29 October 2008 at 9:54 am:
This brings back some good memories :)
I recently stumbled upon http://gct13.com/, which has daily (usually beautiful) photographs from the C-U area.
Comment by Todd on 29 October 2008 at 10:00 am:
test
Comment by Todd on 29 October 2008 at 10:01 am:
Ah, comments with links need to be approved before they show up, apparently.
Comment by Joshua on 29 October 2008 at 10:06 am:
We’ll try to fix that Todd, but I’ll log in and approve it
Comment by Todd on 29 October 2008 at 10:48 am:
OK, I think I’ve got it set now so that you can post 2 links (or one link of the form above, where the link target and link description are both URLs) without needing approval.
Now let’s get back to talking about Chambana :)
Comment by Joshua on 29 October 2008 at 11:10 am:
Milos
Allerton Park
Farrens
Chem Annex Balcony
Professor Carmen’s classroom
The old Murphys
Student Body Pres office on a fall afternoon w/ the window wide open
Sitting in the middle of the concrete rail around foellinger in the middle of the
The BBQ place out on cunningham
Ye Old Hickory Pit
Art Museum by the law school
the great concert hall in krannert
staircase of davenport
Comment by Joshua on 29 October 2008 at 11:11 am:
Katie, there is no word limit here! Pls post your full list :)
Comment by Kevin on 29 October 2008 at 12:16 pm:
Drew’s Pizza (without toppings, for sanitary reasons)
Orange Chicken from Chinese Express
48 E. John #308
Murphy’s on Wednesdays for a logo glass and a special with cheddar
Laying down by the stream running through the engineering quad on a summer night
My office on the 3rd floor of MEB at 2AM when no one is around
The judges’ seats in the law school auditorium around finals time
Walking through campus when it’s snowing and everyone else is afraid to be outside
The ice arena
Getting lost in Altgeld Hall
Fighter jet flyovers before football games
The basement at Guido’s
Comment by Todd on 29 October 2008 at 12:39 pm:
I wasn’t one to go to class very often, but one place I didn’t mind going to was the big lecture hall (1310? 1320? I forgot which one’s the big one) in DCL. It was extremely comfortable by classroom standards. Maybe too comfortable, since I fell asleep there many times. The steep slope made it easy for everyone to see. Plus, we occasionally got to play video games on the huge projectors! No windows or sunlight, but I’m not really in to that kind of stuff anyway :)
Comment by Tom on 29 October 2008 at 2:10 pm:
My List–
The Quad Squirrels and Quad Sparrows raiding your lunch on the back steps of the Union.
The balcony at Crane Alley
The Ballroom of the Illini Union for their lunch buffets, especially around holiday time
The big concrete barn along Goodwin Street near Loomis with all the windows that I dropped a truck in
The sidewalk tables on the west side of the Esquire–you can see the whole city of Champaign go by
The beer garden at the Iron Post–in the summer, you can hear the band every time the door opens–across the street is the old Jumer’s Hotel at Lincoln Square and it’s a Gothic castle at night
The Bardeen Garden–I remember when it was John’s lab
Speaking of Gothic, the interior of Altgeld Hall, with all of its stairways to nowhere
Lincoln Hall theatre with a company doing an all-girl verison of a Shakespeare play set in the 1920s
Espresso Royale, not any of the newer ones–the original, the place where the programmers who invented Mosaic hung out–the windows along Oregon Street are left from the days when it was Treno’s Pub back in the 1960s and 70s
Oh, God, the second oldest bar on Green Street–Zorba’s, home to the best chili and sinful french fries
The original Merry Ann’s Diner, tucked in next to the Illinois Central tracks
The lines of black and white photos of towers, operators, and trains at the Transportation Center downtown, second floor
Curtis Road between First Street and Philo Road–it goes over the highest point in the Champaign-Urbana area at one point–it’s a favorite of Larry Kanfer.
The mother-tree atop the Hill at Crystal Lake Park
The goose-ponds along Prospect Avenue in the Mall areas
My front porch, overlooking Springfield Avenue, now Illinois 10. You can tell it’s a highway, even though it’s two lanes.
The Parkland Planetarium, both for the nights of the star shows, but also for Pink Floyd concerts
Comment by Segen on 29 October 2008 at 10:52 pm:
1. The Bread Company
2. The eternal flame bench in springtime under the flowering pink trees
3. The big sidewalk running behind Follinger
4. Red Herring
5. Cowboy Monkey
6. Newman Hall
7. The Armory and the women’s bathrooms with urinals in them.
8. Round Balc apartments
9. McKinley
10. The graveyard I got lost in while taking a “shortcut” to Assembly Hall
11. The very thin, weird, bike paths behind Follinger
12. Music building practice rooms
13. Busey-Evans cafeteria
14. CPM main office…those jerks!
15. Lincoln Hall
16. The couches in the Union
17. Moonstruck chocolates
18. IGPA
19. IMPE before it got renovated
20. ISR Mexican dinner night
21. The “Cites Express Email” stations in the Union before I got Gmail
22. Shortcuts through Davenport Hall
23. Spurlock Museum
24. The Alumni Center and the Graduate and Professional Affairs Committee of the ISS parties
25. Studying on the 4th floor, North side of the Union (my secret studying spot that I only let few people in on)
26. TIS bookstore
27. That weird old garage-sale like store that sold a bunch of crap that I thought was a money-laundering site before it became Potbelly’s.
28. Tennis near the 6-pack
29. Four words: Aunt Sonya’s banana pancakes
30. The little waterfall on the Bardeen Quad (Engineering Quad)
31. CUMTD…bus transit. I always thought the name was vulgar looking…
32. Smith Hall and all the beautiful sounds coming out of it as you walk by.
33. Sunsinger at Allerton Park
34. UI Philharmonia and Illini Strings Orchestras
35. Oh…I miss the U of I….
Comment by Amanda on 29 October 2008 at 11:06 pm:
The arboretum on Lincoln Avenue and walking west around the pond by Japan house
Running during the springtime through the Urbana neighborhood off Lincoln Avenue when all the tulips and hyacinth are blooming
-also related, the swing set at Carle Park is a perfect destination for a romantic walk
Kettle corn popcorn at the Urbana Farmer’s Market (only reason to go)
Siam Terrace red curry fried rice
Botanical garden at the Plant Sciences Lab
Evo Cafe (on 6th Street) Mongolian Chicken
Sculpture Garden on Windsor Road
Original Pancake House on Mattis (I didn’t knonw Mattis existed until my junior year of college and I didn’t find OHOP, as I like to call it, until my senior year)
Black current iced tea from Cafe Paradiso
It feels so good to get all those secrets off my chest. I’m sorry most of them were about food. :)
Comment by Joshua on 29 October 2008 at 11:37 pm:
Segen, I miss Aunt Sonyas so much. It’s hard for me to even talk about it! I loved their chocolate chip pancakes
Comment by Todd on 30 October 2008 at 1:42 am:
Amanda’s swing set comment reminded me of one of my other favorites. There was a small park with a swing set just south of Springfield between 2nd and 3rd street, I believe.
I lived near there for a while, and sometimes (usually in the middle of the night), I’d just swing for a while. It was a good place to think about things. I also loved going for long walks all around the campus area, and I’d stop at the swings if I got tired of walking but didn’t want to go home just yet.
I wouldn’t call this swing set romantic, though :)
Comment by Katie on 30 October 2008 at 7:26 pm:
Segen- Moonstruck just closed. Sorry to be a buzz kill.
My (other) favorite places/things/people:
Murphy’s on Wednesday nights
Running in Urbana
Old, unpaved streets
Driving east on University between Mattis and downtown Champaign, especially in the autumn
Chai Lattes from Bar Guiliani
Italian Sodas from Aroma
Anniversary Plaza (behind the Union)
Impromptu barcrawls/Monday nights out with my roommates
Half time of football games
Halloween
The juke box at Murphy’s
Billy’s softball team
World Harvest international food store (at 6th and University)
Eating salads and studying upstairs at Za’s
I would make the list longer, but it’s about time for an impromptu roommate barcrawl!
Comment by JayBandit on 31 October 2008 at 8:28 am:
I don’t see how living north of green street is a secret…The farthest south I lived all 4 years was on the southeast corner of lincoln & green. Probably 10% of the student body (at least) lives north of green…so not exactly a “secret”. More like a smart thing to do.
Comment by Katie on 31 October 2008 at 5:31 pm:
I guess I should have said north of Green Street in Champaign. Most people I know who are committed to Champaign living don’t consider the possibility of living up north. We found our house by accident. I think it offers the best of both cities- the quiet of Urbana without the long walk to class/bars.