The Preservation and Conservation Association of Champaign County (PACA) invites the public to celebrate National Preservation Month and two important anniversaries on May 4, 2025, 1-5 p.m.
First is a tour of the Royer Residence, whose 120th anniversary is this year. This house, at 801 West Oregon Street, is one of the two structures that form The Joseph W. Royer Historic District, created in 2001 as Urbana’s first Local Historic District. The second house in the district is the neighboring Ella Danely “Mother-in-Law” Cottage at 701 South Busey Avenue. Both houses were also listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2022.
This is the first public opportunity to tour the first floor of the Royer home, built in 1905 in the Spanish Mission style, and to view the original dining room murals painted by Mrs. Royer’s sister, Nell Brooker Mayhew. Mayhew was an artist now largely forgotten in our area, as she spent the bulk of her creative life on the West Coast. Adelaide Royer often designed interior furnishings for Joseph Royer’s architectural projects, and some of those designs featured original works by Nell. Joseph Royer shaped so much of our built environment, but he did not work in a vacuum. Royer married into the Danely family of creative artists who enhanced Royer’s designs with their Arts and Crafts sensibilities, classical training, and close associations with the Art Department at the University of Illinois. PACA hopes to shed new light on Adelaide and Nell, women whose works we seek to preserve and honor.
The second reason for our celebration is the 100th anniversary of the publication of Fairy Book, written by Adelaide Royer and illustrated by her sister Nell. Inspired by the real Ella Danely and her “Mother-in-Law” Cottage next to the Royer Residence, this series of stories suggested questions to children of the time: could the efforts of the hard-working woodland fairies of Urbana’s Big Grove explain the quirky charm of the cottage? Its distinctive features -- the tall, stucco and fieldstone off-center chimney on the facade, eyebrow arch over the front door, and ground-hugging fieldstone foundation beneath the stucco walls -- invited such speculation among the neighborhood children. It soon became a tradition to read Fairy Book to Leal School kindergarteners on the last day of the school year. The students heard stories of the fairies who helped construct the cottage at night in secret, explaining its resemblance to their fairy homes in Brownfield Woods. After the book was read, the children visited the cottage and “Grandmother” Ella Danely, who greeted them with “Fairy” cookies and candy. As Dr. Brian Adams explains:
This Children’s book is set at the “Mother-In-Law Cottage,” built in 1923, and designed by Joseph Royer for his mother-in-Law, Ella Danely. It is a series of stories about the adventures of fairies who not only helped build the cottage, but also played around the neighboring Royer residence, and Brownfield Woods.
In honor of this centennial, PACA has reprinted a limited edition of Fairy Book with a new forward by Dr. Adams, which will be available for purchase at the celebration and at the PACA warehouse, 44 E Washington, Champaign. Master storyteller Kim Sanford will portray Adelaide Royer (“Aunt Boog” in the book) and share the Fairy Book tales through the afternoon. Young preservationists will be able to decorate their own Fairy Garden door to take home, as well as a coloring page with an illustration from the book and a bookmark. The cottage will not be open for tours, but we will display a few of the historic interior images shared with Dr. Adams by the Danely family.
Free to the public, rain, or shine, please join PACA in celebrating National Historic Preservation Month, begun in 1973, and the continued charm of this Historic District, along with the industry of garden fairies who may still toil among us.
Also check out other Arts events in Urbana, Workshops in Urbana, Trips & Adventurous Activities in Urbana.
