OLDEST -- Building on the University of Washington Campus
N 47° 39.498 W 122° 18.525
10T E 551904 N 5278554
Denny Hall is the University of Washington's oldest building, erected in 1895.
Waymark Code: WMYXGE
Location: Washington, United States
Date Posted: 08/06/2018
Views: 1
The University of Washington's website contains an
article highlighting the recent restoration of Denny Hall finalized in 2016. A paragraph from that article mentions Denny Hall's superlative status as the campus' oldest building:
Denny Hall’s status as the oldest building on campus motivated and energized the team of designers, architects, and contractors. “Everybody was motivated. That’s why we were able to finish on time, ahead of time, on budget, with a building that I think everybody’s pretty happy with,” said Everett.
Another article web page highlights the history behind Denny Hall and reads:
Denny Hall
The architectural competition for the design of the first building was won by Charles Saunders. Although initially called the Administration Building, in 1910 it was named Denny Hall in honor of Arthur A. Denny, donor of most of the land for the original campus. On July 4, 1894, the cornerstone was laid with Masonic ceremonies. A copper box from the cornerstone of the old University building was removed, additional documents added, and placed in the cornerstone of Denny. The first term on the new campus began in Denny on September 4, 1895. Stone left over from the construction was used to build the observatory. Money left over from the legislative appropriation for Denny was used to fund the construction of a gymnasium/drill hall and a pump/power house.
Denny Hall Interiors
The Catalogue for 1895-96 describes the new building as "a commodious brick and stone structure, with recitation rooms, laboratories, museum, assembly hall, library, business offices, and society and auxiliary rooms . . . The building covers 20,000 square feet of ground space. The style of architecture is French renaissance. The building is furnished with the best known facilities for heating and ventilating. It is believed to be suitable for the accomodation of 600 to 800 students." President's Office. The library housed a total of 6,000 volumes at the time the 1895-96 Catalogue was published.
Wikipedia (link below) also mentions Denny Hall as being the oldest campus on the University of Washington.
On an interesting note, when contractors performed excavation around Denny Hall in 2016, they revealed the 1894 cornerstone stamped with the University of Washington seal and the university motto “Lux Sit” (which is Latin for “let there be light!”). Unexpectedly, an additional corner stone dated 1861 became visible at the foundation. Not only had the builders moved the university to Denny Hall, they brought the original cornerstone from the downtown location with them!