Neighborhood Map

The Hickory is located in the hub of the rapidly emerging north side of Downtown Champaign. Downtown's renascence began fifteen years ago on Walnut Street two blocks south of The Hickory. Walnut and adjacent Main and Taylor have developed as an area filled with coffeehouses, specialty shops, bars and night clubs and restaurants.

Growth first moved a block west to Neil and then northward to now encompass Columbia Ave. In this newly emerging north side of downtown is: Escobar's Latin Fusion Restaurant and the Columbia Street Roastery both on Columbia. Uptown On Columbia Condominiums is on Hickory near Columbia. Where Washington meets Neil is both Carmon's Creperie and Bentley's Pub. To the east on Washington is the Preservation and Conservation Association's architectural salvage sales and in the next block Simply Amish furniture. Just to the west fronting Neil is Evolve Fitness Club. Directly across Washington to the south is the Orpheum Children's Science Museum.

Unifying the original urban renascence on the south side of downtown to the emerging new north side of Downtown Champaign is the One Main building with both Kofusion and the Jim Gould restaurant. Its nine story sister building M2 is currently under construction directly west across Neil. The City of Champaign will be constructing a six story parking garage just west of M2. All of these are within a block of The Hickory.

All within three blocks are the Springer Cultural Center, the historic Virginia Theatre, the Boardman's Art Theatre and West Side Park, the site of most of the city's festivals. The just opened new Champaign Public Library is a short seven blocks walk to the south.