Baker Performance Loft

Champaign, Illinois

The Performance Loft is an architectural landmark, located just steps from downtown Champaign. As featured in the book Space, Movement, and Light, and designed by renowned architect and former University of Illinois professor Jack S. Baker, the space is recognized as a trailblazing early example of adaptive reuse loft living. Designed in 1973, the "Performance Loft” is preserved as a midcentury modern time capsule, complete with period furnishings and accessories.

The interior of the Performance Loft was fashioned out of a late 19th Century wagon shop. A former vehicle elevator was infilled to create a sunken space and an elevated stage. The space has been frequented by students and local community members hosting seminars, dance, and theater performance and poetry readings, exhibits, and receptions.