Lincoln College's University Hall 150 years: Past, Present and Future

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[May 02, 2015]  LINCOLN - As part of the Lincoln College reunion weekend, on Saturday, April 25, John Bishop (’90) and Paul Beaver (’56) presented a history of University Hall. The first building built for the upstart Lincoln University, now called Lincoln College, University Hall was built 150 years ago.

Bishop shared that the Cumberland Presbyterian Churches were looking to build a school in the northern states around the time of the end of the civil war. Founders looked at various sites around Lincoln, but on a dreary day, as they viewed the site ultimately chosen, the sun suddenly came out and a train passed by, helping the group decide it was the place to go.

Bishop provided a timeline of the events leading up to the opening of the campus.

  • December, 1864 - Site Selection
  • February 6, 1865 – Charter granted by the Illinois General Assembly
  • February 12, 1865 - University Hall Ground Breaking
  • March 4, 1865 – President Lincoln notified by letter [from Colonel Robert Latham] of the founding of the school and that it would be named in his honor.
  • April 14, 1865 – President Lincoln Assassinated
  • June 6, 1865 – Plans for University Hall are completed by George Gayle.
  • August 24, 1865 – Basement windows are completed.
  • September 14, 1865 – Cornerstone laid
  • June 1866 – Exterior mostly complete
  • November 1866 – Lincoln College opens its doors to first students

The building is known for its architecture, which is Italianate style. It also has hipped roofs with corbel supported extended eaves, a Cupola, Arch-headed and Palladian windows, plus a Joliet limestone base. There are clay exterior and interior structural walls and Bishop estimates that it has approximately 12,000 bricks that were manufactured locally and placed piece by piece with a pulley. It also features exterior wood ornaments - pediments, cornice and corbels. Years ago, the cupola was used to house an astronomical telescope.



Beaver shared some of the social history of the building in the 20th century. He told of one incident of a student prank in which a “borrowed” cow was taken to the third floor. The students left the cow up there where a janitor discovered it running around the next morning having left a nice little “mess” to be cleaned. In order to get the cow down the two flights of stairs, it had to be blindfolded.

The third floor once housed science classes, a dance studio, and one professor’s office. Beaver stated that students in these courses had to be dedicated students to climb all those stairs.

In the 1950’s, a snack bar was put in the basement and was named the Jefferson Davis Memorial snack bar. The story goes that then-president Dooley acted like he disapproved of the name, but reportedly found it somewhat amusing.

It was also during that era that the first Grand Soiree was held. Beaver described it as an elegant affair with a string quartet playing, a “tree made of fruit,” and cake made from Mary Lincoln’s recipe.

In 1866, Lincoln had a population of 3,000 people. Within a couple years, the school had 190 students. It was a four year school until 1929, when Millikin University was founded. Most students lived in nearby houses in the early years.

In the 1880’s, the first baseball team was started.
 


There were a few calamities over the years that caused minor damage to the building. For example, there was a fire in the 1930s that was contained to the basement. In 1968, a tornado damaged the cupola—the high winds blowing it off the building, onto a car. In 1969, when the nearby administration building burned, it was only due to the direction of the wind that evening that University Hall was not affected by the fire.

In 1973, University Hall was put on the National Register of Historic Places—the first place in Lincoln to be placed on the register.

The Present

Plans are now being made for renovations as presently the building needs several repairs and is somewhat underutilized due in part to accessibility issues.

Bishop described the current conditions of each floor:

The basement is currently used for storage due to the accessibility issues. The public restrooms and windows need attention. In addition, a sprinkler system is needed.

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The first floor is fully occupied and used for administrative offices, but some of the stairs and risers are loose. There are also some anachronistic elements such as railings that do not match the time period.

The second floor is also underutilized as the classrooms on that floor are no longer being used and it is not accessible to some. The ceilings are also low—described as “headknockers” since taller people sometimes hit their heads on them.

The third floor, which formerly housed a dance studio, is underutilized due to its lack of accessibility. It also contains anachronistic elements such as wood paneling.



The attic has limited utility space and is currently locked off and enclosed. It could be used for air conditioning the whole building. In the attic, there are also several student autographs dating as far back as the 1890s.



Finally, the cupola is also underutilized partly because the stairs are very steep with six to seven inch treads. This area also has some historic elements with student autographs.
 


On the outside, the masonry needs to be replaced in some areas as much of it is original and deteriorating. Site drainage is also an issue since the building has settled over the years, calling for regarding of the site. The wood trim on the outside also needs renovations. Many of the windows are original, with a few reproductions, but the windows are like a museum of glass manufacturing with curved glass in some and glass crown disc in others.

The Future

At present, the question is how to make the building better utilized and more accessible. When considering accessibility, those deciding how to renovate noted that chair lifts are not practical due to the many flights of stairs. Putting an elevator on the outside of the building is not workable either because they want to protect the outside of the building. Bishop said they need to connect an elevator shaft that starts in the basement, though it would not be able to go all the way up to the attic or cupola.

The building cost around $30,000 to build 150 years ago, the money raised through subscriptions from people such as town developers John Gillette and Colonel Robert Latham. William Scully and trustee David Harts contributed quite a bit of funding over the years, especially during difficult financial times. Since the needed renovations are likely to be costly, the college is working on getting grants and matching grants for funding.

Though the renovations are not yet in progress, when they are completed, they will help preserve a building that has been a big part of Lincoln College’s history.

[Angela Reiners]

 

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