University of Illinois: Campus Tours
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign - by
Kalev
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 Lincoln Hall was erected in honor of the President who signed the Morrill Land Grant Act into law, laying the foundations of what we know today as the University of Illinois. In 1909, 100 years after his birth, the $250,000 building was approved by the state legislature, and it was ready for occupation by 1911. The 4-story building was originally 230 feet long with twin 127-foot wings, and was expanded in subsequent 1929 and 1939 additions, which added the Lincoln Hall Theater. It was originally dedicated "to the study of the humanities: classical and modern languages and literature, history, philosophy, and the social sciences", and the libraries were open to students from 8AM to 10PM each day. Lincoln Hall was dedicated in the Auditorium at 3 o'clock the afternoon of Wednesday, February 12, 1913. Judge Simeon W. King, the only surviving pallbearer from Lincoln's funeral, was also present at the ceremony. The building was dedicated with the words:It must not be forgotten that the facilities thus provided by the state are not primarily or fundamentally for the benefit of the young people who directly take advantage of them, but rather for the ultimate benefit of the great masses of the people who cannot come up to the university and who for their participation in the benefits of these great opportunities provided by the commonwealth, must depend upon the good faith and the loyalty of those privileged to study here, in transmitting the blessings they have enjoyed to the communities whose interests they will serve. Noblesse oblige. The building, features terra cotta adornments designed by Karl Schneider, artistic lead of the American Terra Cotta Company. They feature various scenes and quotations from Lincoln's life on its exterior, along with 69 wise old owls. There are ten panels depicting various scenes from Lincoln's life, including Lincoln Splitting Rails on the Banks of the Sangamon, The Down-River Trip and the Slave Auction (1831), The Lincoln-Douglas Debate (1865), and The First Inaugural Address. Scenes date from 1830, 1840, 1849, 1858, 1861, 1863, and 1865. There are also ten panels with quotations from Lincoln's myriad speeches. Each of these is flanked by dual portraits of men who were influential in Lincoln's life: Seward, Chase, Stanton, Welles, Grant, Farragut, Sumner, Adams, Greeley, Turner, Douglas, Trumbull, Yates, Oglesby, Logan, Lovejoy, Davis, Palmer, Koerner and Medill. The quotations themselves are:
Five additional quotes adorn the building's western face, with blank medallion faces:
The classes of 1918 and 1919 dedicated a memorial courtyard on their 50th anniversary in the interior of Lincoln Hall in honor of those University of Illinois students who died in the First World War. On October 22, 1979, Lincoln's bust in the foyer was stolen and relocated to a tree stump on the 8th hole of the Florida Avenue University Golf Course. A note delivered to the Daily Illini spoke on behalf of the former President, saying "Went out for a breath of fresh air. I'll be back by the end of the week", but a phone call to the police shortly thereafter led to his safe return.
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