University Hall

University Hall (1869) is the oldest building on campus. It was designed by Gurdon P. Randall and took three years to construct. The high-Victorian Gothic building was made with the same type of Joliet limestone that was used in the historic Chicago Water Tower. Now the home of the English department, it originally housed a chapel, a museum, classrooms, a library, and meeting rooms. The clock in University Hall's highest tower, with a movement built by Seth Thomas, was the gift of the class of 1879. The bells were the gift of the class of 1880. In the west entryway of University Hall is a sign bearing the name 'Old College.' This sign hung above the main entrance of Old College, the first building at the University, completed in 1855 and razed in 1973.