University of Illinois: Campus Tours
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign - by Kalev Leetaru   

Foreign Language Building     Located on the site of the formerOld Entomology Building , ground was broken on the Foreign Language Building (FLB) on December 18, 1968.     A popular myth is that the building's distinctive architecture was a result of its being designed to house a supercomputer on campus called Plato.  The building was supposedly designed so that if it was bombed, the building's shell would fall outwards, protecting the supercomputer on the inside.  It is also rumored that the building's interior layout was a result of trying to confuse Soviet spies and prevent them from stealing secrets from the supercomputer.     In reality, the building's architecture is not actually all that unique and was a popular style of the day. In fact, just a few blocks to the west, one may find the Speech and Hearing Sciences Building, which a 2-story clone of the building.  Plato itself was real, but refered not to a secret government program, but rather to the first "modern" electronic learning system, the forbearer of course software like WebCT and Mallard. The mainframe computer that ran the Plato system was located in north campus, in a building which used to reside on the west side of the Bardeen Quad.     Fast Facts about the Foreign Language Building   Date Built:   December 18, 1968 (Groundbreaking)  Full Name:    Foreign Language Building (FLB)  Full History:   Foreign Language Building History   Photo Gallery:   Foreign Language Building Photo Gallery  On the Map:   Foreign Language Building on the Campus Map   Quick Links:   Department of Linguistics  Selected Images of the Foreign Language Building   Below is a selection of images of the Foreign Language Building. These images may be viewed for personal use only and may NOT be republished in any form. To use one of these images in a U of I presentation or Web or print publication, please click on the "License" link beneath each image to license the image free of charge.    LICENSE    LICENSE    LICENSE    LICENSE    LICENSE    LICENSE    LICENSE    LICENSE    LICENSE    LICENSE    LICENSE    LICENSE    LICENSE