UIHistories Project: A History of the University of Illinois by Kalev Leetaru
N A V I G A T I O N D I G I T A L L I B R A R Y
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Repository: UIHistories Project: Book - 100 Years of Campus Architecture (Allen Weller) [PAGE 6]

Caption: Book - 100 Years of Campus Architecture (Allen Weller)
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URBANA-CHAMPAIGN CAMPUS When the University of Illinois (then known as Illinois Industrial University) opened in 1868, it was housed in a former seminary building which stood on the present Illinois Field. Students lived, studied, and attended classes in this single building until 1871 when a second building was constructed. University Hall, an important landmark of those early years, was built in 1874 and stood until 1938 on the site now occupied by the Illini Union. Of an uncompromising Victorian style, with twin towers at each end, University Hall was the work of John Mills Van Osdel who is credited with being the first professional architect in Chicago or the West. Van Osdel was a member of the University's Board of Trustees from 1867 to 1873. University Hall housed all aspects of the University — classrooms, offices, library, chapel, a natural history museum, a museum of engineering and architecture, even an art gallery complete with casts of Greek and Roman statues. The University of Arkansas purchased Van Osdel's plans for University Hall in 1873 and erected an identical structure which still stands at Fayetteville.

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