Lincoln Hall (University of Illinois)

Lincoln Hall is one of the eleven buildings that make up the main Quad of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. The building's exterior depicts scenes of the life of Abraham Lincoln. The building housed the departments of Sociology, Communications, and Political Science, as well as the offices of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences.

Funding for the Lincoln was approved by the Illinois State Legislature in 1909, was ready for occupation in 1911, and was finally dedicated on 12 February 1913. There was an addition to the building in 1929.

A bronze plaque with the text of the Gettysburg Address hangs in the East entrance to the hall. Also in that entryway is a bronze bust of Lincoln, the nose of which is more polished than the rest of the sculpture due to many students rubbing it for good luck. Twenty quotes and ten scenes from Lincoln's life adorn the exterior of the four-story building.

The South courtyard is a memorial to those University of Illinois students who died in the First World War, dedicated by the classes of 1918 and 1919.

In 2005, the Landmarks Preservation Council of Illinois placed Lincoln Hall on its yearly Ten Most Endangered list. In July 2009, Governor Pat Quinn approved $57.3 million for the renovation of Lincoln Hall. The plan would bring the building up to the contemporary building code while preserving historical features such as exterior terra cotta panels and the Lincoln Hall Theater. The renovated building would be ready for occupancy in the summer of 2012.

References

• Lincoln Hall: UIHistories Project Virtual Tour at the University of Illinois
• LPCI Ten Most Endangered list archive
• University of Illinois College of Liberal Arts and Sciences Renovation Fact Sheet