Repository: UIHistories Project: Dedication - Hallene Gateway [PAGE 6]

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Alan and Phyllis Hallene of Moline, Illinois, were finalizing plans for a significant gift to construct a plaza on the campus when a University of Illinois employee literally discovered buried treasure-the stone portal from historic University Hall. Begun in 1871, completed in 1873, and razed in 1938 to make way for the Illini Union, University Hall (also known as Old Main Hall) was a key structure on the early campus. It housed the library, a museum and art gallery, the chapel, physical lab, lecture rooms and drawing rooms, 30 classrooms, quarters for three literary societies, and the regent's office. The sandstone portal entrance to University Hall was removed in 1938 and believed to have been kept behind the Architecture Building for a number of years and then seemed to disappearfromthe campus landscapeDiscovered in 1994 amid brush, raspberry bushes, and small trees, U of I workers needed a backhoe and shovels to unearth the partially buried portal not far from maintenance sheds at the University's Robert Allerton Park near Monticello. Shortly after the discovery, plans for Hallene Gateway Plaza at Lincoln Avenue and Illinois Street in Urbana were revised to incorporate the portal as the plaza's focal point. The historic portal-inscribed with the University's motto of Learning aiid Labor and surrounded by walkways, benches, trees, courtyard, and an illuminated fountain—now bids welcome to students past and future thanks to the generosity of Alan and Phyllis Hallene. Three generations of the Hallene family have attended the University of Illinois, including Phyllis Hallene's parents, OI in and Hazel Welsh. Alan and Phyllis Hallene both graduated from the University of Illinois in 1951, she with a bachelor's degreefromthe College of Liberal Arts and Sciences and he with a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering. He also graduated with the distinction of being the Bronze Tablet salutatori* an of his class. Two of the Hallene's four children have earned degrees from the U of I. The former president of Montgomery Elevator Company, Mr Hallene served as president of the U of I Alumni Association and president of the U of I Foundation Board of Directors. He is currently a member of the Foundation Board and of the Campaign Illinois Steering Committee. Produced bv the University of Illinois Foundation