Although the University of Illinois is no longer the #1 party school in the nation, students are still working hard and playing even harder. The UIUC bars make nightlife on this campus what it is.
Red Lion, Cly’s and Joe’s are a few of the many bars on campus today. However, at one time most of today’s bars weren’t even around. Other establishments once dominated the party scene at UIUC.
But like all things in life, things change, or in this case, close down. It might be crazy for some current students to think that the bars that they go to on the regular once never existed.
These 4 places no longer exist on the University of Illinois’ campus but were once bumpin’.
C.O. Daniel’s
You know that abandon building next to KAM’S that is vandalized and covered in posters advertising upcoming concerts at Canopy Club? That is C.O. Daniel’s.
C.O. Daniel’s, a nickname for “Cochrane on Daniel’s”, used to be one of the most lit campus bars before being shut down. The bar closed due to having too many drinking violations.
But before being closed down, the bar was a place for students to go to be crazy with their friends and have a good time. If you were to ask anyone who went to C.O. Daniel’s how it was, they would probably tell you some crazy story that involved too many drinks that were probably all for free.
All I have to say is too bad that this place still isn’t open. It would be nice to have a short walk to a backup bar when the line for KAM’S is too long.
Cochrane’s / Orchid / Tonic
The former bar located on the corner of Green Street and Wright Street first opened its doors as Cochrane’s over 30 years ago. Somewhere along the way it became Orchid and then in 2005 it closed its doors as Tonic.
If you were to walk past this location today, you will find Sushi Ichiban below an apartment complex. This is completely different from the wild dance scene that was there just over a decade ago.
Tonic was known for having the only large dance floor, full-time D.J. and dance lights on campus. Thankfully, that’s more common to come across in UIUC bars today.
The bar decided to close down after drawing the wrong crowd. Maybe it’s for the best that this place shut its doors. Seems like this would be the #1 Uber destination for a lot of students rather than #1 bar.
Mabel’s
Known today as Brother’s Bar & Grill, Mabel’s used to be located in this two story building. Mabel’s was a venue for a wide range of artists. If you were down to listen to some good music, you went to Mabel’s.
Mabel’s featured a variety of local and international artists. Alice in Chains, Cheap Trick and Joan Jett are just a few of the famous musical acts that have rocked out in this former establishment.
Although there were clubs in the area that offered live entertainment to their customers, Mabel’s was set apart from the rest by how it had a gig booked nearly every night.
Maybe we need another place like this closer to the heart of campus so students can go chill out and listen to some good tunes more often.
Station 211
Another place to jam out to some live music was Station 211. Located where Red Lion currently is, the bar used to host concerts for local and well-known bands.
Eventually the owners of the bar ditched the Station 211 name and named the bar Red Lion.
According to Scott Cochrane, who owns many of the UIUC bars, Station 211 was a “big warehouse-type of space. It didn’t have my brand on it.” With that said, Cochrane added all of the dark wooden decorations and lion decal seen in Red Lion today.
Although the names of these bars have changed and have a different look, the memories made in them are still alive. When alumni return for football games or Mom’s and Dad’s weekends, the stories of their crazy college years never seem to end. It’s thanks to these UIUC bars that these wild stories are told.