Morrill Hall - Architecture

Architecture

The exterior architectural style of Morrill Hall has been alternatively described as Second Empire and Italian Renaissance. The structure was originally divided into three distinct sections: a southern wing containing student residential suites with room for sixty students; a central academic wing for classrooms, the library, and an auditorium; and a northern wing containing offices. Originally, the sections were not interconnected, and moving from one to the other required exiting and re-entering the building. This segmented structure was designed as a safety feature, as a fire in one wing of the building would be less likely to spread to the other two sections of the structure. The partitions between the three segments of the building were demolished in 1897 as part of a large-scale renovation.

The buildings comprising the Stone Row- Morrill Hall, McGraw Hall, and White Hall- all face westward toward Libe Slope, as the university originally intended to develop the slope area with further construction projects. Later construction efforts, however, focused on the area east of the three historical buildings, leaving them facing the "wrong way." Morrill Hall's current interior layout, following a 1973 remodeling, thus runs counter to the original exterior orientation. The structure's three primary entrances and main reception area all open to the eastern face of the building on the Arts Quadrangle, with only one of the original western entrances still in use. Thus, the exterior "front" of the building now serves functionally as the back of the building.