Written by Caitlin Stamm
Now that it is officially summer and campus has emptied out, it’s a perfect time to take a wander down memory lane. There’s no better place to start than by exploring Lovers’ Lane!
![Cover of <em>The Siren</em>, October 1911](/slc/wp-content/uploads/sites/73/2015/05/the-siren-cover1-209x300.jpg)
Lovers’ Lane was located on Daniel Street and Champaign, between Fourth Street and Wright Street [1], next to the Kappa Alpha Theta house. For decades, it was a spot close to campus where couples would gather to take walks.
![From <em>The Siren</em>, November 1921](/slc/wp-content/uploads/sites/73/2015/05/sirenmermaidhomecoming1-202x300.jpg)
Lovers’ Lane was even featured on the October 1911 cover of The Siren. It’s no wonder the lane, and its proximity to sorority houses, was profiled; The Siren’s editor lived on Daniel Street in the Beta Theta Pi house [2].
As the University replaced brick walkways with cement, a Champaign City ordinance necessitated the removal of the great trees to create a sidewalk [3]. A 1915 Daily Illini article notes, “The sentiment of the majority of people living along the street seems to be in-favor of making the new walk narrower so that the long, shaded lane may be spared to future generations of strolling lovers” [4]. This, however, was not to be the case. The trees were condemned after the fall of 1915 and all had been removed by 1926 [5]. Continue reading “Campus Memories: Taking a Stroll Down Lovers’ Lane”