University Of Michigan Central Campus Historic District

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University Of Michigan Central Campus Historic District
Burton Tower.jpg
Location University of Michigan campus, Ann Arbor, Michigan
Coordinates 42°16′37″N83°44′15″W / 42.27694°N 83.73750°W / 42.27694; -83.73750 (University Of Michigan Central Campus) Coordinates: 42°16′37″N83°44′15″W / 42.27694°N 83.73750°W / 42.27694; -83.73750 (University Of Michigan Central Campus)
Area85 acres (34 ha)
Built1840 (1840)
Architect Albert Kahn, Smith, Hinchman and Grylls, Spier and Rohns, and Donaldson and Meier
Architectural styleLate 19th And 20th Century Revivals, Late Victorian, Art Deco
NRHP reference # 78001514 [1]
Added to NRHPJune 15, 1978

The University Of Michigan Central Campus Historic District is a historic district consisting of a group of major buildings on the campus of the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, Michigan. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1978. [1]

University of Michigan Public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States

The University of Michigan, often simply referred to as Michigan, is a public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan. The university is Michigan's oldest; it was founded in 1817 in Detroit, as the Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania, 20 years before the territory became a state. The school was moved to Ann Arbor in 1837 onto 40 acres (16 ha) of what is now known as Central Campus. Since its establishment in Ann Arbor, the university campus has expanded to include more than 584 major buildings with a combined area of more than 34 million gross square feet spread out over a Central Campus and North Campus, two regional campuses in Flint and Dearborn, and a Center in Detroit. The university is a founding member of the Association of American Universities.

Ann Arbor, Michigan City in Michigan, United States

Ann Arbor is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan and the county seat of Washtenaw County. The 2010 census recorded its population to be 113,934, making it the sixth largest city in Michigan.

National Register of Historic Places federal list of historic sites in the United States

The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance. A property listed in the National Register, or located within a National Register Historic District, may qualify for tax incentives derived from the total value of expenses incurred in preserving the property.

Contents

History

The Ann Arbor Land Company gifted the fledgling University of Michigan forty acres of land at this spot in the late 1830s. The University accepted, and in 1840, the first four buildings, residences for faculty, were constructed. A dormitory/classroom building was soon added, and classes began on campus in 1841. In 1852, the University's first president, Henry Philip Tappan, moved into one of the faculty houses, and it as served as the President's House ever since. More buildings were added to the campus, including the 1856 Chemistry Building, and by 1871 the University was one of the largest in the country. [2]

Henry Philip Tappan President of the University of Michigan

Henry Philip Tappan was an American philosopher, educator and academic administrator. He is officially considered the first president of the University of Michigan.

Presidents House, University of Michigan

The President's House at the University of Michigan is the official home of the President of the University of Michigan, located at 815 South University, on the University of Michigan campus, in Ann Arbor, Michigan. The house is the oldest building on the University campus, and is one the original four houses constructed for faculty when the University moved from Detroit to Ann Arbor. The house was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1970.

More buildings were added in the late 1800s, under president James Burrill Angell. In 1901, construction began on the West Engineering Building, the first campus building designed by Albert Kahn (in this case in partnership with George D. Mason). Kahn would go on to design ten significant structures on the University's central campus, primarily under the stewardship of William L. Clements as chair of the university's Buildings and Grounds Committee. A substantial number of buildings were added to the University in the 1910s and 1920s. The onset of the Great Depression slowed the pace of growth, and the last two architecturally significant structures, the Burton Memorial Tower and the Rackham building, were added in the late 1930s. [2]

James Burrill Angell American diplomat

James Burrill Angell was an American educator, academic administrator, and diplomat. He is best known for being the longest-serving president of the University of Michigan, from 1871 to 1909. Under his leadership, Michigan gained prominence as an elite public university. Today, he is often cited by Michigan administrators for providing the vision of Michigan as a university that should provide "an uncommon education for the common man."

Albert Kahn (architect) American architect

Albert Kahn was the foremost American industrial architect of his day. He is sometimes called the "architect of Detroit". In 1943, the Franklin Institute awarded him the Frank P. Brown Medal posthumously.

George D. Mason American architect

George DeWitt Mason was an American architect who practiced in Detroit, Michigan in the latter part of the 19th and early decades of the 20th centuries.

Description

The University of Michigan Central Campus Historic District contains nearly thirty significant buildings. These buildings were constructed over a range of dates, with the first, the President's House, constructed in 1840. Fully ten of the buildings were designed by Albert Kahn, who was University Supervising Architect from 1920 to 1925. Other architectural firms such as Smith, Hinchman and Grylls, Spier and Rohns, and Donaldson and Meier also designed buildings on campus. The center of the campus is defined by The Diag, a central open space about which many of the buildings are arranged. [2]

SmithGroup is an American architectural, engineering and planning firm. Established in Detroit in 1853 by architect Sheldon Smith, along with Luckett and Farley, SmithGroup is the longest continually operating architecture and engineering firm in the United States that is not a wholly owned subsidiary. The firm's name was changed to Field, Hinchman & Smith in 1903, and it was renamed Smith, Hinchman & Grylls in 1907. In 2000, the firm changed its name to SmithGroup. In 2011, the firm incorporated its sister firm, JJR, into its name, becoming SmithGroupJJR. As of August 1, 2018, the firm changed its name back to SmithGroup.

Donaldson and Meier

Donaldson and Meier was an architectural firm based in Detroit, Michigan. Founded in 1880 by John M. Donaldson (1854–1941) and Henry J. Meier (1858–1917), the firm produced a large and varied number of commissions in Detroit and southeastern Michigan. Donaldson, the principal designer of the partnership from a design point of view, was born in Stirling, Scotland and immigrated to Detroit at a young age. He returned to Europe where he studied at the Art Academy in Munich, Germany, and at the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris, France.

The Diag

At the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, the Diag is a large open space in the middle of the university's Central Campus. Originally known as the Diagonal Green, the Diag derives its name from the many sidewalks running near or through it in diagonal directions. It is one of the busiest sites on the university campus, hosting a variety of events including outdoor concerts, fundraisers, demonstrations, and sun bathing.

Historically significant buildings in the district, listed chronologically by construction date, are: [2]

Detroit Largest city in Michigan

Detroit is the largest and most populous city in the U.S. state of Michigan, the largest United States city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of Wayne County. The municipality of Detroit had a 2017 estimated population of 673,104, making it the 23rd-most populous city in the United States. The metropolitan area, known as Metro Detroit, is home to 4.3 million people, making it the second-largest in the Midwest after the Chicago metropolitan area. Regarded as a major cultural center, Detroit is known for its contributions to music and as a repository for art, architecture and design.

Richardsonian Romanesque Romanesque Revival architectural style, named for Henry Hobson Richardson

Richardsonian Romanesque is a style of Romanesque Revival architecture named after architect Henry Hobson Richardson (1838–1886), whose masterpiece is Trinity Church, Boston (1872–1877), designated a National Historic Landmark. Richardson first used elements of the style in his Buffalo State Asylum for the Insane in Buffalo, New York, designed in 1870.

University of Michigan Museum of Art Art museum in Michigan, United States

The University of Michigan Museum of Art (UMMA) in Ann Arbor, Michigan with 94,000 sq ft (8,700 m2) is one of the largest university art museums in the USA. Built as a war memorial in 1909 for the university's fallen alumni from the Civil War, Alumni Memorial Hall originally housed U-M's Alumni office along with the university's growing art collection.

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References

  1. 1 2 National Park Service (2013-11-02). "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places . National Park Service.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Laurie K. Sommers (December 7, 1977), NATIONAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES INVENTORY- NOMINATION FORM: University Of Michigan Central Campus Historic District