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Lincoln Hall

Lincoln Hall is a historic building located on the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign campus built to serve as a home to the universities’ humanities departments.

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Overview

Completed in 1911, Lincoln Hall is named for President Abraham Lincoln who signed the Morrill Land Grant Act that allowed for the creation of the University of Illinois in 1867 in Urbana, IL. In 1909, the State of Illinois appropriated $250,000 towards the construction of the building. Originally built with four stories and two 127 foot wings, the building saw renovations and expansions in 1929 and ten years later in 1939. The building was home to four disciplines-classical and modern languages and literature, history, philosophy, and the social sciences as well as their respective libraries open fourteen hours per day. The building was dedicated on Wednesday February 12, 1913 at an afternoon ceremony. In honor of President Lincoln, Judge Simeon W. King, one of the late president’s pallbearers, was present at the ceremony.

Physical Building

The physical building consists of four stories, two additions, and the Lincoln Hall Theater. The building measures 230 ft. long complete with 2, 127 ft. wings. The construction of the building was under the direction of State of Illinois architect Carbys Zimmerman. The materials used in the construction of the building include Bedford stone and brick, as well as terra cotta, used to create exterior panels that depict scenes from the life of President Lincoln as well as famous quotes. Karl Schneider, the lead designer of the panels project and an employee of the American Terra Cotta Company, is given credit for the designs. Schneider would later comment that he spent a great portion of his time on the Lincoln Hall project reading and researching biographies of President Lincoln. Ten panels that illustrate scenes from Lincoln’s life include titles such as Lincoln Splitting Rails on the Banks of the Sangamon, The Down-River Trip and the Slave Auction, The Lincoln-Douglas Debate, and The First Inaugural Address; the scene dates include the years 1830, 1840, 1849, 1858, 1861, 1863, and 1865. The panels containing quotes from President Lincoln are positioned next panels with pictures of influential men from the president’s life, who include Seward, Chase, Stanton, Welles, Grant, Farragut, Sumner, Adams, Greeley, Turner, Douglas, Trumbull, Yates, Oglesby, Logan, Lovejoy, Davis, Palmer, Koerner and Medill. The interior of the building was designed to provide adequate space for each of the disciplines it served. The first floor of the building was home to the classics and philosophy department; the second floor housed the English and modern languages department; the third floor was home to social sciences including history, economics, politics, and sociology. Each of the first three floors housed a departmental library, complete with two conference rooms, that served students fourteen hours a day. In total, Lincoln Hall contained over 60,000 volumes of books between her libraries. In addition, classrooms and offices were scattered about the first three floors. The fourth floor broke the mold of the first three floors in terms of its purpose; deeming the fourth floor out of the way and impractical for masses of students to access in a quick and orderly fashion, the architects of the building elected to house the University's literary department on the fourth floor. In addition, professors of varying research fields were given offices on the floor. Two other entities that occupied the fourth floor were museums. The Classic Archeology Museum housed the University of Illinois's collection of artifacts, including relics from ancient Egypt and Greece among many other finds from around the world. The European Culture museum served as an educational space displaying the history of Europe. Incorporated into the design of the building was a system of reflected light that scattered natural light throughout the building. During the first renovation of the building in 1929, plans to construct a theater were enacted. In 1930, the Lincoln Hall Theater opened to house classes as well as performances. The theater was designed by University of Illinois Professor and Architect J.M. White and the Adams Brothers. Unlike most theaters, the Lincoln Hall Theater was designed with a cyclorama, a curved wall that was placed at the rear of the stage and painted a neutral color so that different color lights could be reflected off of it to create various moods and scenes during performances. Also, the cyclorama helped to improve the acoustics of the theater. The stage curtain was a gift from the Illini Theater Guild, who, hoping that a theater would one day be constructed on the Urbana-Champaign campus, began raising funds many years prior to the theater's construction. The cost of the curtain was $1,250.

Originally embedded into the floor of Lincoln Hall, but later repositioned to a wall is a brass plaque with the words of the Gettysburg Address. In keeping with the tradition of Lincoln Hall serving as a functioning monument, an outdoor courtyard was created from funds donated by the classes of 1918 and 1919 to serve in honor of students lost in World War I; the area would later be named as the Lincoln Hall Theater Court. In 1970, a War Memorial fountain was added to the courtyard in memory of the 1918 and 1919 classes. Designed by University of Illinois landscape architect Donald Molnar, the fountain is decorated with images of symbolic numbers, weaponry, Midwest farm lands, as well as the names of World War I, World War II, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War, which was unresolved at the completion of the monument. At the bottom of the statue is the number 1917, placed in honor for the class of 1917 and their tribute to the University. The addition of images of Midwest farmlands to the fountain was a tribute to the homes that students left to fight in wars overseas. Another monument inside of the building is the bronze bust of President Lincoln positioned outside of the theater. While the statue has dulled with age, the nose of the president is a bright copper color as students rub the nose for luck before exams in the theater.

Lincoln Hall

Lincoln Hall at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Dedication
February 12, 1913
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Current Issues

Currently, Lincoln Hall’s 27 classrooms are home to 16% of the University of Illinois total instruction, making it the second most used space to teach; only Foellinger Hall serves more students. Consequently, the building is in need of renovation due to much student traffic and lack of renovations since 1930s. Problems in the building include broken floor tiles, windows that do not open or close, furniture in disrepair, and a population of small animals, such as squirrels. Funding for the renovation includes money from both public and private outlets, including the State of Illinois as well as alumni and other private donors; however, the $55.1 million dollars allotted for the project in the State of Illinois Capital Budget is in limbo due to the inability of Illinois law makers to pass the budget. Provost and Vice Chancellor Linda Katehi has stated that although the University has not secured funding, the project will move on in an effort to save money and make progress. Proposed renovations include replacing the stage curtain in Lincoln Hall Theater as well its marble foyer and stairway, restoring the exterior terra cotta panels to original condition, updating the building to fit ADA standards, and replacing all mechanical, electrical, and telecommunications in the building. The current plan will reduce energy consumption by 40%. The goal of the project is to create an energy efficient space while preserving the original and historical look and feel of the building. Also, LEED (The Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Silver standards will be applied to the project; under the LEED standards, any building renovation that costs more than five million dollars must adhere to advanced energy and water conservation regulations. Currently, under the University of Illinois Deferred Maintenance plan, class rooms and lectures halls around campus are receiving renovations to prepare extra space when Lincoln Hall is being renovated. This proposed reassignment has received negative response from departments that use Lincoln Hall. Departments are worried about separating graduate students from advisers as well as making it harder for undergraduate students to track down professors and teaching assistants. The three year project will require faculty and students to be relocated to other campus buildings throughout the construction. Completion of the project is projected before the start of fall classes in 2011, which would be the anniversary of the building’s ground breaking.

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