503 South State Street, Champaign
In December 2005, PACA received a major gift from the Drenckhahn and Morris families, the descendants of Francis Emory and Abbie Gunning Solon. The brick Italianate house at 503 South State Street, Champaign, was built in 1867 by William C. Barrett, as a “spec” house. The first family to occupy the residence was that of Abel and Isabella Harwood; the family owned the house from 1870 to 1907. Francis and Abbie Solon purchased the home from the Harwood estate in 1907 and raised their five children there. In 1995, their oldest son and last surviving child, John Solon, died and the house was inherited by his nieces and nephew. It was these descendants that donated this significant and highly visible historic building to PACA for its preservation.
Since receiving the property, PACA’s work on the house has included sorting and distributing to the proper recipients items that remained in the house and undertaking “house archeology” to help understand the changes to and evolution of the building. In addition, a graduate architecture student, Christopher Enck, has painstakingly drawn measured floor plans of the house and an extremely detailed roof plan. This work was supervised by architect Gregory Hargus, who previously worked with PACA on the Cattle Bank and Greek Revival Cottage projects. Repairs have also been made to the roofs, cupola, and eaves, while other work has further stabilized the structure.
In addition to cleaning and stabilization, PACA has enacted preservation safeguards for the house. In 2006, the Champaign City Council rezoned the property from the IT-MF In-Town Multi-Family District to IT-SF1, In-Town Single Family District. Already designated a Champaign Landmark, the residence was also listed in the National Register of Historic Places. Future plans for the Solon House include offering it for sale to a preservation-minded buyer who has the resources for a full restoration. PACA also will retain preservation easements on the house’s exterior and significant interior features.
