When completing renovations to older buildings, it’s always important to take one final look around in case anything important turns up. The demolition of a building on the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign campus turned up a 116-year-old time capsule.
The unexpected discovery was spotted by workers that were carrying out the demolition of Illini Hall, a project that began earlier this month. They were cleaning the building’s cornerstone when they found the time capsule dated to be from 1907.
Officials said they had no record of a time capsule being concealed inside the building, which was originally constructed for the local YMCA. The school confirmed that the time capsule will be turned over to the University YMCA and opened as part of the group’s 150th celebration later this year.
“It is one of the ways we can help preserve history. The building is no longer here. We’ve documented the building historically. This is a part of that building the Y can keep as far as their heritage,” Dennis Craig, the school’s historic preservation officer said. “The Y, while they’re not a part of the university directly, they’ve been an influence on this campus all these years, too.”
Source: https://www.wcia.com/news/illini-hall-demolition-uncovers-a-time-capsule/