On November 7th, 2008 — the Metropolitan Building in Downtown Champaign burned.
This is where Hyatt Place currently exists, and you can read more on the history of the building Michael put together in 2009.
Just watch this video. Can you imagine watching this in real time? If you did, tell us your thoughts in the comments.
This photo is by Richard Urban:
h/t to Robb Tobias for mentioning this on Facebook.
Top photo from the YouTube video.