The Inman, formerly known as Inman Place and originally The Inman Hotel, is now owned by Royse + Brinkmeyer Apartments. Since the early nineties, it has been an independent living facility for senior citizens, with dining, pet care, laundry services, and housekeeping. R+B plans to leave those services in place, but will now open the building to renters of all ages.
Photo from Champaign County Historical Archives.
The Inman Hotel opened in 1915, and it is on the National Register of Historic Places. It was designed by architects Nelson Spencer and Harry Temple, who designed many buildings in C-U, including Colonel Wolfe School and Champaign High School (Edison Middle School) among many others. On the 100th anniversary in 2015, Tom Kacich wrote about its history in The News-Gazette, and shared that Louis Armstrong, Eleanor Roosevelt, Nat King Cole, and Jimmy and Tommy Dorsey all stayed at The Inman Hotel, and it’s rumored that Al Capone once rented out the entire second floor. The second floor housed the WICD television studio from 1965-1978 and weatherman Keith Page used to lean out of the window to give a report on weather conditions.
You can learn more about The Inman apartments here.
Top photo from The Innman Apartments website.
