Eisner House Deep Dive

I grew up driving up and down University Avenue and adoring this Tudor style house. It imagined it was Snow White's little get away after she'd become a princess and missed her days in the cottage in the woods, but needed a little more space.

In July of 2024, I got the treat of digging into it's history and found out it was a bit of an actual fairytale house in reality.

This residence was built in 1927 and is a two story, hip and gabled roof Tudor style with a modern garage added. Designed by architect George Ramey, who also designed our Virginia Theater. It's known for many things, but regularly used today for the annual Ebertfest today. If you're ever downtown, don't forget to snap a selfie with Roger Ebert himself.

This Tudor house was built for Edward and Elizabeth Eisner. Edward Eisner was born in 1889 in Champaign to Albert and Kate Eisner, who bought into the Piggly Wiggly chain of grocers after success with his own grocery store, Eisner Foods. The Eisners were one of the early prominent Jewish families in the Champaign area. Edward served in World War 1 as a Sergeant in the artillery branch (Registration State, n.d.). He worked in his father’s grocery, Eisner Foods, also known as Piggly Wiggly, until 1933 when he moved his family to Rockford, Illinois and independently worked as a Treasurer. He had two daughters, Katharine and Barbara. Edward and his wife Elizabeth were happily married until death separated. Edward died in 1994 and Betty followed in 1998. Read more here.

The Eisners only lived here for a few years before The Bilderback Family moved in. Gordon Bilderback was a finanicer and socialite and also didn't live here long before his family moved into what is often called the "Castle House" on Park. You can also read more about that here in the News-Gazette.

One of the most surprising finds for me of researching this old house was finding out about it's next prominent family. The Vance family lived here from 1945-1951. Donald Vance was born in Illinois in 1907. His father, Forrest, invented fold-aside bleachers and founded Universal Bleachers (American Seating) Company in Champaign, IL. He married Marcella and they had at least two sons, Robert and Richard. They only lived in this house a short time, moving closer to the country club. He died at the old age of 84 and is buried in Florida.

It's incredible that the high school roll away bleachers I took for granted when I was in school, sitting on for pep band and dances alike were invented here in Champaign. You can flip through an old catalogue here.

Eisner Houses' most long lived resident's were local legend Don Moyer Jr and his family.

Donald Moyer Jr was the son of Don Moyer Sr, for whom the Champaign Boys and Girls club is named after. Don Jr. He attended Dr. Howard Elementary School, and graduated from the University of Illinois High School at only 16. He met and married his wife in college at Knox College and had a successful career as a financial advisor. They had three children together and moved back to Champaign to raise them here. Don Jr was also very active with his father’s namesake Boys and Girls club, raising over a million dollars for the building and completing renovations. His obituary can be read here.

Full details about this stunning house whose stewards through its nearly one hundred years were such local legends can be found in the PACA Survey at Champaign County Historical Archives at Urbana Free Library.

Most houses don't have such well known local past residents, but this one is special. Even when your home's previous caretakers are new names to you, astonishing facts can connect you to them. Share this newsletter with a friend if you think they'd find it interesting. If you'd like to get more old juicy gossip or house history hunting tip, follow my socials below.

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