Masters Hall Cartouche - The University of North Texas - Denton, TX
N 33° 12.751 W 097° 08.914
14S E 672549 N 3676374
Masters Hall stood on the campus of the University of Texas from 1951 to 2008. When it was torn down, one of its cartouches was preserved, and it stands at the northeast corner of the newer Life Sciences Complex.
Waymark Code: WM12YMR
Location: Texas, United States
Date Posted: 08/08/2020
Views: 4
The marble cartouche was one of two, maybe three, that adorned the building. It has a stepped pattern for the background, with four steps on each side culminating in a single step. The center oval scrolls backward at the top and forward at the bottom, with six lines going through it at an angle. Lines separate the oval into four sections, with a microscope in the upper left section, and test tubes in the lower right. A rope goes through the bottom scroll, connecting two banners that read "Biology" and "Chemistry", and a scroll (or a wave) on each side of the oval.
A 2012 sign placed by the University provides some history of Masters Hall, referencing the cartouche, and it has an inset photo showing one of them. It reads:
Masters Hall was built in 1951 where the north part of the Life Sciences Complex now stands. Originally housing both the biology and chemistry departments, it was named for W.N. Masters, head of the chemistry program from 1910 to 1941. One of the cartouches that decorated the three-story building -- which featured an Egyptian main doorway -- sits at the northeast corner of the Life Sciences Complex. Masters Hall was renamed the Chemistry Building in 1967 after the Biology Building, now the south part of the complex, was erected next door. Students moving to Masters Hall from the crowded 1910 Science Building remember the luxurious new lecture hall complete with movie projection booth and raised seating. Other modern facilities included bacteriology, zoology, embryology, botany and chemistry labs. Faculty members researched municipal water quality, antibiotics and anti-tubercular drugs. Although the Texas Legislature had appropriated money to build Masters Hall in 1941, the project was canceled during the war. The facilities department hailed the completed building as "the long-delayed fulfillment of the hopes and aspirations and needs" of the biology and chemistry departments. The Campus Chat newspaper called it simply "the scientist's dream." In 2004, the chemistry department moved to the new Chemistry Building on the corner of Mulberry Street and Avenue C. In 2008, Masters Hall was torn down to make way for the Life Sciences Complex, the first structure on campus to be LEED certified for green building design.
The University's Portal to Texas History (see URL, below) has some interesting photos of the building during its time on the planet, with some much nicer photos showing the cartouches.
Your impression of the sculpture?: 
Date Sculpture was opened for vewing?: 01/01/1951
Website for sculpture?: [Web Link]
Where is this sculpture?:
The University of North Texas
1510 Chestnut St
Denton, TX USA
76201
Sculptors Name: Unknown
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