The American Football House is a property located in Urbana, Illinois. It was made famous in 1999 when it appeared on the cover of the emo band’s self-titled debut album ‘American Football.’
The interior of the house would later feature on the cover of the band’s 2016 album ‘American Football (LP2).’
The History Of The American Football House
Built in 1893, the American Football House is located at 704 West High Street in Urbana, Illinois, close to the campus of the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.
The house, which is smaller than most others on the street, features three bedrooms, two bathrooms, and 1,280 square feet of living space. One of its earliest residents was Charles M. Webber, who died while living on the property in 1931.
Many years later, two of Webber’s great-great-grandchildren, Adam and Michael Thies, worked for Polyvinyl Records, a record label based in Champaign. It was this record label that was behind the emo band ‘American Football.’
American Football was formed by guitarist and singer Mike Kinsella, guitarist Steve Holmes, and drummer Steve Lamos in 1997.
In the 1990s, the house was well-known by college students for its parties and punk concerts. A student photographer, Chris Strong, lived in the basement at the time with his then-girlfriend.
While no members of the band ‘American Football‘ ever lived at the house, they were fellow students who were friends with Chris and had frequently attended parties there.
The band would enlist Chris to design their 1999 debut album cover artwork. Strong took a “couple of thousand” photos of the house, with the band choosing a nighttime shot of the house exterior, tilted upwards at the second-floor window.
The house would also appear in the American Football music video ‘Never Meant.’
Just a year after American Football released their debut album, the band split up upon leaving university. Despite the group’s short lifespan, their debut album became one of its era’s most acclaimed emo records.
The American Football House In More Recent Years
In March 2014, more than a decade after splitting, American Football announced they were reforming with live dates in Champaign and New York. A fourth member also joined the band, Nate Kinsella, cousin of lead singer Mike Kinsella.
In 2016, two years after reforming, American Football released their second album ‘American Football LP2’, with an album cover once again featuring the American Football house (interior).
That same year, Vice named the American Football House as ‘one of music’s biggest landmarks’, describing the property as one of the emo community’s most prominent landmarks.
In 2023, it was confirmed that the band had purchased the American Football house for around $200,000 after it became threatened by demolition to make way for a condominium.
Below are some of the listing photos of the American Football house before it sold.
The stairs and hallway in the American Football House were used for American Football’s second album cover.
What American Football intends to do with the American Football House, apart from likely using it as cover art on their next album, we just don’t know. An emo tourist attraction seems most likely since most previous tenants have complained about the house’s size and construction. It’s unlikely any of the band would ever actually live there.
