CHAMPAIGN — Marilyn Divan Wojnar remembers when her house on East University Avenue in Champaign was part of a thriving residential neighborhood.

"There were houses all along University Avenue," she said. "I went to school at Marquette. I could just walk over there."

The original Marquette building where she went to school is long gone. And her home at 212 E. University Ave. is the last single-family, owner-occupied residence on East University.

But the house, an old survivor, has made it to the National Register of Historic Places.

The home, formally known as the Henry Ahrens House, is one of just a handful of Champaign-Urbana residences on the National Register. Fifty-seven Champaign County buildings, most of them tied to the University of Illinois or the area around campus, are on the National Register.

Another recent addition is what is known as the Frederick Squires House at 1003 W. Church St., C. It is now owned by Roger and Andrea Shields.

The two homes were thoroughly researched by Karen Kummer of the Preservation & Conservation Association, who persuaded the Illinois Historic Sites Advisory Council to recommend their inclusion on the National Register. The National Park Service placed them on the list Nov. 22, along with five other Illinois properties.

"It's really a lovely house," Wojnar said of the residence that was designed in 1893 by local architect Seely Brown, who also designed Champaign's first city hall and fire department, and more than a dozen private residences including the 1867 Solon House at 503 S. State St. "I'm one of those people who like to preserve things; I wouldn't have wanted anyone to knock it down."

Kummer's research found the 2 1/2-story Queen Anne style Ahrens House was built for Henry C. Ahrens, a prominent Champaign saloon operator and liquor wholesaler who was born in Oldenburg, Germany, in 1837. He died in 1915, but the home has remained in his family. Wojnar is the daughter of Walter Divan, who was married to Henry Ahrens' daughter, Anna.

Wojnar, born in 1922 in the Broadlands area of southeastern Champaign County, said she believes her parents moved to the University Avenue house when she was about 5 years old.

"Our Broadlands house had an outside bathroom. This house had all the amenities. It had a bathroom upstairs and another one downstairs," she laughed.

She has remained in the house, off and on, ever since. She married Dr. Victor Wojnar in 1946, and they lived in several states until returning to Champaign and the house in 1976.

"I'm kind of into preservation," she said.

In her 29-page report on the Ahrens house, Kummer wrote that the residence is an excellent example of the Queen Anne style, reflecting the architect's "choice in its asymmetrical plan, complex roof shape, wrap-around corner porch, projecting pavilions and cut-away bays. Variety, a hallmark of the style, is conveyed through the use of clap-, corner and frieze boards, and through four different wood shingle patterns."

The nomination included not only the house but the original carriage barn (also built in 1893) and the wrought iron fence around the property.

The Squires house on Church Street has a more complicated history, according to Kummer's research.

It is "an extensive rebuilding of a circa 1870s vernacular gable-front" house that was undertaken by Frederick Squires, a New York-trained architect. In 1927, she said, Squires moved a similar gable-front house to the lot and joined them with a two-story wing.

"He then remodeled the enlarged irregular plan dwelling into his personal expression of an Arts and Crafts-influenced residence that retains the integrity of his own design," Kummer wrote.

It also is architecturally significant, she said, because of its use "of natural and local materials including wood shingles and used brick; a variety of window types; an open floor plan; and outside living space."

Roger Shields, who with his wife Andrea has lived in the house since 1979, said the house has not been maintenance-free, but it is sound. The Shields have made foundation repairs, replastered walls and refinished floors. But much of their time and effort has been spent landscaping.

"The carpenters who have been through say it's solid as a rock," he said. "We have loved living here. The layout and the rooms are so different. It's just an interesting place to live."

The Shields assisted Kummer with the process leading to the National Register designation.

"We're not into vainglory," said Roger Shields, a noted musician who was born in Arcola. "I'm just pleased for Mr. Squires and his family. I just hope the people who live here next — because we're not going to be here forever — will keep it up.

"Mr. Squires and his house just need to be congratulated for surviving."