63 Chester Street, Champaign, Illinois

The Project

My name is Leslie Krause. I was a former employee of Chester Street Bar from 2005 till its closure in 2017. I worked as the resident weekend DJ and as the promoter for Monday goth/industrial nights. I maintained the lighting and sound system for the venue as well.

I created this site to pay tribute to 63 Chester Street — including its former incarnations as C-Street, The Bar and Chances R. All three venues have touched so many people’s lives in and around C-U. My aim is to provide a digital archive of vintage photos, handbills, news-clippings, and other memorabilia.

An additional gallery of photos that I’ve taken on Saturday Nights at C-Street can be found at the former www.chesterstreetbar.com site.

I have also been collecting a lot of physical memorabilia, most of which is stored in a climate controlled U-Haul unit. My hope is that at some point, these can be displayed in a dedicated Chester Street museum space.

To contribute to the project, or suggest additions or corrections, please contact me via email at info@chesterstreet.com .

Thanks for your help!