CHAMPAIGN – The city council on Tuesday night moved forward on several items, two of which paid tribute to the history embedded in two parts of town.

The council voted unanimously to provide historic landmark protection to the Ginza building at 315 E. University Ave.

The Ginza building was most recently home to a flower shop and an Asian grocery – before that, it served a slew of purposes including a hotel, bakery and candy store, but was originally built as a sanitorium. The three-story, Romanesque building is estimated to have been built in 1901, according to city documents. With 29 rooms, it was larger than the original 1895 Burnham Hospital, which had 24 patient rooms among its two stories.

More recently, The Electrum Group has been renovating the building to provide apartments on the upper floors and space for businesses on the lower floor.

Council member Karen Foster said she admired how innovative the building's owners were – for the early 20th century, at least – adding a swimming pool as an amenity.

"Driving past it, you'd never know that the history of this building was there," Foster said.

The council on Tuesday also supported renewing the honorary street designation for Doxology Lane, the alley between Hill and Church streets from Elm Street to Neil Street.

According to city documents, the alley was a regular walking path for the three pastors of a cluster of churches – Presbyterian, Methodist and Baptist – on their routes to Sunday morning services. As they walked, they are said to have sung a doxology, which is a short Christian hymn.

Honorary street names, of which there are 29 in Champaign, expire every 10 years and must be renewed by council approval. The program began in 2000, and six more honorary street names will expire before the end of this year.

In other business, the council unanimously supported a budget revision to up the earmark for snow removal costs, which had run about $356,000 beyond expectations as of Jan. 31.

The council also supported a draft of the city's 20-year comprehensive plan, which is intended to guide growth and development during the next two decades. The plan is updated every so often – the last update came in 2002 – and the council could give final approval to the planning document on March 1.