Nicholas Fauss, History 250: The Historian Craft

“The old red brick main building was as beautiful as the Parthenon, and O Street, though built of wood and sun-dried bricks, could not have been surpassed in attractiveness by the marble palaces of Rome.” [1] This view given by an early Nebraska student displays the highest regard for the University of Nebraska’s first building. However, while the Parthenon has remained for well over two millennia, even surviving an internal explosion in the early 20^th century, University Hall barely survived its own construction. Although University Hall, like other early Nebraska buildings, was poorly constructed, it became a beloved symbol of the University’s early years.

To omit much of the controversy surrounding the foundation of the University of Nebraska is necessary, for there was no shortage of disagreement and political maneuvering surrounding the early statehood of Nebraska and by close extension, the University. Once the University Charter was signed by the governor in 1869, there was a sense of urgency for the newly-appointed Board of Regents to keep the ball rolling to ensure that the University would remain located in Lincoln and not be stolen away by other claimants, such as Nebraska City and Omaha. [2] A building was needed to cement the location of the new Nebraska University and on June 3, 1869 the Board of Regents approved a plan for a University building at an amount not exceeding $100,00. [3] However, while the goal of the building was to squash controversy, the circumstances surrounding the construction did just the opposite. The approved plan for a building in the “Franco-Italian” style was submitted by M. J. McBird, a contractor from Logansport, Indiana and Construction was handled by R. D. Silver who received $128,480 for the erection of the building. [4] This $28,480 overage caused no shortage of outrage from critics but the Board of Regents hoped that the sale of Lincoln lots would exceed expectations and cover this amount.

The cornerstone of University Hall was laid on September 23, 1869 at Eleventh and S Streets. [5] From this moment forward, construction was problematic. To undertake the construction of a large building in a place as remote as Lincoln was a difficult task. Lincoln did not yet have access to the railroad or any other major supply points, meaning all building materials had to be hauled in on the largely undeveloped Nebraska road system. [6] The limestone of the foundation was sourced from Syracuse and Roca and the bricks were made locally. [7] Not only was University Hall demanding in cost and labor but also in life. The Nebraska Herald reported that three workers were killed and eight were wounded on August 9, 1870 when a scaffolding collapse resulted in the eleven men falling twenty-eight feet to the base. The funeral costs of the three deceased were paid for by the contractor, Silver and the injuries sustained by the other eight ranged from sprained ankles to broken legs. [8] Despite the challenges of construction, the newly completed building was approved as the University building by the Board of Regents on January 18, 1871. [9] On their January 10^th visit, the regents reported, “To us, the building appears to be well constructed and substantial, and that its general plan, as well as the details, are eminently well fitted to answer the purpose for which the same was erected.” [10] Upon completion, University Hall stood three stories high plus a basement and a tower.

Prior to the opening of the building, the soon to be impeached Governor of Nebraska, David Butler, had this to say about University Hall: “Our University building is a source of pride to the citizens of our State, and is a model, not only in architectural beauty, but in its internal arrangement.” Right from the start, it was anything but. Concerns were raised before University Hall ever held its first class. In June 1871 three architects were brought in to assess the structural integrity of the building. They declared it “entirely safe for the present as it now stands. It will probably continue to be safe for many years to come.”[11] Despite this tentative vote of confidence, there was no doubt that the locally-made bricks were too soft, the roof leaked, and the foundation needed repairs. [12] Or as Chancellor Allen R. Benton so modestly put it in his first report to the Board of Regents in 1872, “some difficulty has been experienced in making the roof impervious to rain.” [13] Minor repairs were made to the foundation before the start of classes in 1871. The approval of the architects allowed the University to begin holding its first classes in 1871 but criticism of the building persisted. Although it was up and running, the permanence of the University’s location in Lincoln was still not guaranteed. The constant rumors and calls for investigations into the safety the building were used as ammunition by those who wished the University to be moved to Nebraska City or Omaha. The first significant action to save University Hall and by extension the University’s location in Lincoln was taken in March 1873 when the Board of Regents approved a plan to replace the north wing’s foundation which had been constructed with sandstone instead of the harder limestone, used for the rest of the foundation. [14]

Even more drastic action was taken in 1877 when architects were again called in to assess the condition of the building. This group was not so optimistic as the architects of 1871 and recommended that the building be torn down. The Board of Regents, no doubt tired of the constant worry and expense caused by University Hall, approved a plan to destroy the building and construct a new, less expensive building in its place. [15] Many feared that if the building was destroyed the University may be moved permanently out of Lincoln to one of the rival cities. In an attempt to keep this from happening, yet more architects were called to Lincoln to assess the University Hall. These architects judged that the building could in fact be saved and in August 1877 the Board of Regents resolved that “desirable” and “necessary” repairs were to be completed by the first of October and that “the start of the fall term would be deferred until that time.” [16] An entire new foundation was installed and significant repairs to the roof were made at the expense of the city. [17]

Like the 1873 repairs, the new foundation gave immediate relief but failed to save the building in the long term. Even after the 1877 renovations, the tin roof continued to leak as it had since the building opened. In 1883 a heavy new slate roof put even more stress on the already-struggling walls and foundation. [18] This new roof only exacerbated the structural issues of University Hall. In 1893 yet another new foundation was installed under the tower and in 1916 steel rods were installed to provide support for the crumbling walls.

University Hall entered the next and final stage of its life in 1925 when its second and third stories, along with its mansard and tower were removed. The decision was made to remove the top two floors as well as the tower in an attempt to prevent the building from ultimate collapse. The December 1925 Nebraska Alumnus documents the critical faults: 1) The heavy roof had caused strain on the exterior walls which had become unbonded with the cross walls. 2) The corridor and stair construction had reached a point where “collapse was imminent.” 3) The piers which supported the tower were cracking vertically and the adjacent walls were bulging. 4) The “shattered condition of the exterior walls” meant that the steel ties could no longer support them. Under these conditions it was apparent that the removal the second and third floors was necessary.

While the first floor and basement remained operational as classrooms like they always had, the spirit of the building had been maimed. University Hall no longer stood as the imposing structure which had so impressed visitors to early Lincoln, and it was no longer “as beautiful as the Parthenon.” Even though the building had been stripped down to the bare minimum, the roof still leaked chronically. “Scattered in the hall of the ancient one-story building to catch every drip of water seeping thru the roof were a mop bucket, three pails, a basin, two large size coffee cans, two jars and a cooking pot,” reported one Nebraska newspaper in 1948. [19] By this point, only language and journalism courses were being held in the University’s oldest building. Miss T. Agnes Gordon’s Spanish 54 on May 21, 1948 was the last class to ever be held in University Hall. [20] September 1948 saw the complete destruction of University Hall with the building razed to be replaced with a new electrical engineering building. [21] This building, later named Ferguson Hall, has since been demolished.

The troubled lifecycle of University Hall was evidently not unique among early Nebraska buildings. The first Nebraska capitol building, completed a couple years before University Hall in 1869, lasted only a decade despite having gone $35,000 over the $40,000 budget. [22] Both the first capitol and University Hall well illustrate what the historian Albert Watkins said about early Nebraska buildings in his 1913 History of Nebraska, “remarkable in being of a uniform structural type, all of them had to be propped up or burned down to keep them from falling down.” [23] Despite the faults of their representative buildings which all but fell into heaps, both the city of Lincoln and the University of Nebraska were able to overcome their shabby foundations and thrive.

University Hall’s troubled and controversial life did not stop it from becoming a beloved fixture of the early University. For those in attendance in its first years, University Hall was synonymous with Nebraska University itself. For more than a decade Old U-Hall, as it became lovingly referred to, was the only building on campus. It wasn’t until 1885 when the first Chemistry building, Pharmacy Hall, was opened that all Nebraska University classes ceased to take place under one leaky roof. [24]

To the students of the University’s first few decades the partial deconstruction of 1926 was seen as a sad affair but one that was inevitable. The December 1925 edition of The Nebraska Alumnus was dedicated to the memory of University Hall. Although many were sad to see it go, most understood that Old U-Hall was beyond repair, having lived on borrowed time for more than fifty years. One alumnus so elegantly said in regards to the old building, “But its many memories, its happy associations, its significance, its great part in the history of the institution – the things that mean much more than the brick, stone, wood, and mortar with which the building was erected – will remain.” [25] The December 1925 Nebraska Alumnus contains no shortage of assenting opinions which praised the decrepit old building and lamented its deconstruction but there were no calls to save the building. Not only had the official decision been made by the Board of Regents and the deconstruction begun, but the aforementioned structural faults of the building were incontrovertible, and plainly mentioned in the Alumnus.[26]

In the same issue, an alumnus reports that when the Board of Regents reached the decision that University Hall was unsafe, the alumni office sent out letters to graduates, asking their opinions on a memorial for the building. [27] The replies generally accept the need for the removal of the upper floors and propose some sort of memorial. “In Regard to Old University Hall, I speak for both Mr. Beghtol (Law ’08) and myself in hoping that something may be done to express the sentiment we alumni have for that building,” said one alumna. [28] Another had a more specific recommendation, “Place on a raised marble mounting an 8 x 10 marble replica of U-Hall, in the center of the present site.” [29] Not all alumni shared this strong nostalgic connection to University Hall. “The University lives in one’s heart… Let Old U-Hall be torn down – its usefulness is now gone – just as the coat I wore when I studied there has long since been destroyed.” [30] A similar sentiment was expressed by the well-known Roscoe Pound who said, “…the original building, in all our institutions of learning, in the course of time has had to be torn down unless by good luck it burned down. In the case of University Hall the wonder to me has always been that it did not fall down long ago.”[31]

Today few traces of University Hall remain. On the site where it once stood, a bronze plaque, displaying the image of Old U-Hall along with a handful of students and the dates 1869 and 1948, is affixed to a cement marker. This headstone-like monument is accompanied by a Nebraska historical marker which briefly explains the founding of the University as well as University Hall. A model of the building, given by the class of 1897, can be found at Archives & Special Collections on the University of Nebraska’s city campus. The bell which once stood proudly atop the mansard of U-Hall can be found today at the Wick Alumni Center, a fitting resting place for a symbol of the building that had become so beloved to students and alumni of the University’s earliest years, even if Old U-Hall was ultimately a detriment to the University.

In the end (and the middle, and the beginning), University Hall was more trouble than it was worth. Even before it had been completed it was a thorn in the side of the University and it continued to be one for the next seventy-seven years. Despite this, the University of Nebraska flourished during the lifetime of its first building. Old U-Hall was many things, beautiful, imposing, critically-flawed and to so many of the University’s early students, University Hall really was the Parthenon of the prairie.