The Champaign County African American Heritage Trail and the Experience Champaign-Urbana Foundation unveiled two signs in Douglass Park!
The first sign celebrates the importance of Douglass Park and Community Center on Grove St. in Champaign. Originally completed in 1946, the Douglass Center held classes in art, music, and sewing, and hosted activities such as softball, baseball, basketball, track, and tennis. It also garnered national recognition in 1968 when the Drum and Bugle Corp won first place in a competition in New York City against 346 other teams from all fifty states. This sign is sponsored by the Champaign Park District.
The second sign in Douglass Park to be unveiled shares the history of the formation of the Douglass Branch Library after having a presence in a room at the Douglass Community Center starting in 1971. The library moved to a donated building on Bradley Ave. where they remained for 20 years before arriving at their current space in 1997. This sign is sponsored by the Champaign Public Library.
