Jayhawk Buildings of the Past
Old North College
Inaugurated on September 12, 1866, sitting where Crobin Hall now stands, North College was KU's first and only building until 1872. When North College opened, the university held 55 students and four faculty members. Upon the building's demolition in 1919, KU had 3,500 students and 250 faculty members.
Old Fraser Hall
When it first opened in the fall of 1872, Old Fraser Hall, then called the “New Building,” was quite simply a marvel of nineteenth-century construction as it combined beauty and the practical needs of education. Old Fraser Hall was a place in which nearly all students and faculty spent time whether in its classrooms, offices, or 700-seat theater that hosted commencement ceremonies, chapel services, plays, and musical performances.
Old Blake Hall
Completed in 1895, KU’s old Blake Hall, built in the Chateau Renaissance style, conjured up images not of higher learning but higher living. Originally, this first Blake Hall was home to KU’s budding departments of physics and electrical engineering. It stood for nearly 70 years before being razed in 1963.
Old Robinson Gymnasium
As KU's student population grew and sports became more popular, the need for a new gymnasium became evident. In 1892, Chancellor Snow made the first request to the Kansas Board of Regents regarding the possibility of building a gymnasium; however, it wasn't until 1095 that the Kansas legislature responded to Snow's request for a new gymnasium. Two years later on May 17, 1907, the new Robinson Gymnasium opened its doors to host its first formal event.
Old Haworth Hall
Since it was first established in 1891, the KU School of Engineering had never had one single building that could house all its departments and facilities. Haworth Hall, completed in 1909, became the first building for the benefit of the School of Engineering. Within its walls were mining and ore-dressing laboratories and facilities for mining engineering, geology, and mineralogy.
