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Caption: Dedication - Harker Hall
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H arker Hall was built in 1878 as Bicker's solution to the challenge for greatness by the Chemistry Department. It was his first major built work and represents his philosophy of combining historical reference with current technological advancements. ** The University Board of Trustees mandated that a Chemical Laboratory be built in the same Second Empire style and using the same type of stone as the adjacent University Hall, which at the time stood where the Illini Union now stands. ** Bicker worked with Professor Weber of the Chemistry Department to make the Chemical Laboratory among the largest and best in the nation. **• True to his role as a leading educator, Bicker turned the project into a learning experience for his students. He employed students as draftsmen and put others to work in the Architecture Department's woodshop making furnishings for the building. **> Bicker's original building design was for an I-shaped, Italianate style structure of three stories plus an "English" or tall basement. The building featured exterior stairs that led to entrances on the raised main floor and a mansard roof to coordinate with University Hall. The basement was constructed of "Kankakee limestone, course rubbled." For the upper floors, a reddish brown brick with a "Joliet limestone trim" was used. The original mansard roof was black slate figured with red and green slate shingles. Historic Harker Hall: Oldest Major Building on Campus ]
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