Now and Then: Spooner Hall

Spooner Hall

Built:1894

Architect: Henry Van Brunt

Through the Years:

1894

Spooner Library is built. It is the 6th building on campus and originally held 20,000 volumes.

The building is re-purposed as Spooner-Thayer museum of art. The library was to large to be contained in the building anymore and was moved. As the building was being renovated, a skylight was added that would last almost 25 years.

1960s

The building becomes home to the KU Museum of Anthropology.

1926

Weaver courtyard built adjacent to SpoonerThayer Museum. The only access into the courtyard is through a single staircase.

1978

photo credit: Google Images

photo credit: KU Archives

October 29, 1994

Spooner becomes the first academic building at KU to reach 100 years of existence.

2010

The “Commons” is born. This was a joint venture with the Spencer Museum of Art, the Biodiversity Institute, and the Hall Center for the Humanities. 2018

Weaver Courtyard receives a makeover from Architectural Design-Build studio. ADA access is added.

2008

Renovations done to the exterior of Spooner hall.

photo credit: Corrie Bolton

photo credit: Google Images

photo credit: Google Images

photo credit: Corrie Bolton

Then:

Now:

photo credit: Corrie Bolton Image

Then:

Now:

Taken from the 7th floor of Fraser Hall [2023]

Then:

Image 05

Taken from top of Old Fraser [1910s]

Image

photo credit: Corrie Bolton

Taken from the 7th floor of Fraser Hall [2023]

Then:

Spooner Hall Stacks

Now:

Leading

photo credit: Corrie Bolton

Image

Spot The Difference:

The old entry points to campus, such as the kiosk pictured to the right, can no longer be seen. Today there are traffic control booths located on Jayhawk Boulevard that mark the official vehicular entrances and exits to Campus. The traffic control booth manages incoming traffic to ensure that only buses, KU facilities vehicles, and vehicles with purchased permits can enter campus during the day time. Jayhawk Boulevard was originally a dirt paved road that allowed for horseback riders, or even horse drawn carriages to bring students, professors, and visiting scholars onto campus. Eventually buses came to campus to transport students to and from classes and dormitories.

Fun fact, the first motorized bus to be put into service in 1895, only 1 year after Spooner hall was built, was invented by Carl Benz, and a year later DMG launched its first commercial line of buses (mercedez-benz.com).

Today the paved Jayhawk Boulevard connects students from the Kansas Union all the way down to the Chi Omega fountain. Buses scurry students back and forth from classes along the wide road. Large sidewalks and many crosswalks have now been built to allow pedestrians to safely walk to class, curb cuts and other features have also been added to make campus more accessible.

As the university grew from its original 55 students to over 3,000 enrolled Jayhawks, campus expanded significantly. Spooner Hall was the first library on campus, and one can imagine that it was a popular place to go. It would have been one of the campus “hubs”. Today, however, Spooner Hall seems to only stand as a historic landmark rather than a bustling building. Even though thousands of students walk by it daily, as they climb the hill from Scholarship hall land, ride past it on the bus from the dorms, or walk past it after parking in the Mississippi Street parking garage, only a handful will actually enter it. Spooner Hall has been outgrown. Upon attempting to enter it on two separate occasions, I realized that they only leave one of the four front doors unlocked. Inside what is known as the “Commons” also remains locked, unless a class or presentation is actively taking place (image 06). What used to be the original library stacks are now closed to the public (image 08). Only the basement is open to the public, down there are a few displays and of course, the bathrooms.

Even though Spooner Hall is rarely frequented in the present day, Architecture professor Barry Newton says of the hall “Many people wonder which is the best building on campus. Its a popular question to ask the architectural faculty. Although I don’t have any idea about what they may mean by best, I have always given the same answer: Spooner Hall. Even before I went inside Spooner, I could see that it was a building of distinction. It is well proportioned, and it is evident from the way that it has adapted and survived that it has a good bone structure,” (kubookstore.com).

Back on Jayhawk Boulevard things have continued to change and grow. Once the lawn of Spooner hall used to be a place for students to practice fencing, and the hill out back a perfect place for sledding. Now several buildings and a parking lot surround the old library. Eleven years after Spooner Hall was built came Dyche Hall in 1901, followed by start of construction of the Kansas Union in 1921, then the dedication of Danforth Chapel in 1946 (just out of frame in image 02). To the East of Spooner Hall the religious studies building, Smith Hall, was built in 1967. Behind Spooner Hall, what once was open land unoccupied by anything but weeds and rabbits, came the scholarship halls, bars, and neighborhoods.

When KU campus was first established in 1855, Lawrence Kansas was mostly confined to what is known today as North Lawrence. Campus was built on the hill so that is could be a beacon of learning to the community. Many people were concerned that no one would attend it because it was so far away from the city. Now, almost 170 years later, the city of Lawrence has began to grow around the University (see images 03 through 06). When looking down on Spooner Hall from a birds-eye perspective, one can see Massachusetts street behind the old library, as well as the neighborhoods that began to surround the University.

Interestingly enough, KU campus has seen an increase in greenery throughout the years. The images show the growth of trees surrounding Spooner Hall, and upon closer inspection you may even be able to see which trees have grown with the University, and which were added later to improve the landscape. While some of campus has been doused in concrete, like Wescoe Beach, the lawn in front of Spooner hall remains an open green space with criss-crossing sidewalks. The combination of old and new growth that can be seen surrounding Spooner Hall is a beautiful reminder of how the past impacts the present.

While some historic buildings remain on campus, such as Spooner Hall, many have been demolished with new ones built in their place. Others have undergone significant additions. Take for instance Image 03 that was taken from the roof of Old Fraser, a building that was once the center for all activity on campus. The recreation (image 04) was taken from the 7th floor of the new Fraser Hall.

Even the lamp posts on campus have been upgraded from the old, intricate cast iron ones that can be seen in Image 01. Brick sidewalks have been replaced with concrete ones (images 11 and 12). Unlike Fraser Hall that was demolished then reconstructed, Spooner Hall has been preserved, with only a few changes to its facade to make sure it stays up to code. It sits as a reminder of what campus originally was. It is a memorial to the past. Campus has grown around it, as can be seen by all the images above, but Spooner Hall has remained the same, other than its internal purpose. If one takes the time to pause as they walk past Spooner Hall, they will be reminded of a time long past. If they take the time to circle it, they will see where modern systems have replaced dated technology and modifications have been added to keep the building up to code. If they take a close look at the building itself, they will see some decay, some falling stone, and perhaps even the old decommissioned lion head fountain. But then if they look across from Spooner Hall they will find a parking lot, nearby a multilevel parking garage. Spooner is in a unique position to highlight the contrast between old and new campus, one just has to take the time to pause and look at it.

As campus continues to grow and expand, hopefully Spooner Hall will remain a landmark and not be completely forgotten. Campus needs reminders of how it once functioned, what it used to be. Students need reminders of how far we have come, and the importance of what has been left behind.

[Images left page top to bottom: Old traffic control/information kiosk, Current traffic control booth, Horses and carriage in front of Spooner Hall, Horse and Buggy in front of Spooner hall, Old bus on KU campus Sept 25, 1975, Current 43 Red campus bus]

[Images right page top to bottom: Students fencing in front of Spooner Hall 1985, Children sledding with Spooner Hall in the background 1900s, A group of people sitting on the steps of Spooner Hall 1896

photo credit: KU Archives

photo credit: KU Archives

photo credit: KU Archives

photo credit: Google Images

photo credit: Corrie Bolton

Spooner Hall

Sources:

https://www.loc.gov/item/2014647643/

https://digital.lib.ku.edu/ku

https://www.gpadacenter.org/kus-weaver-courtyard-increasing-access-and-enhancingexperience

https://union.ku.edu/spooner-or-later

the ever wonderful google images

https://www.mercedes-benz.com/en/exclusive/classic-magazine/the-first-motorizedbus-dating-back-to-1895-was-a-benz/#:~:text=The%20first%20vehicle%20was%20 delivered,service%20on%2018%20March%201895.

http://m.lawrence.com/news/2009/nov/01/building-distinction-new-book-explores-kusspooner/

https://www.kansan.com/arts_and_culture/architecture-students-project-to-make-spoonerhall-courtyard-more-accessible/article_1bf2d11c-f99d-11e8-ab9d-f31a9d5f0794.html