To spot the Old University Library, just look for a stately red-brick building with a tall pointed arch over its wooden doors and a little clock perched up top-it’s framed by leafy trees and seems to stand proudly like it knows a story or two.
Now, if the walls of this building could talk, they’d probably start with a deep sigh of relief-after all, it took more than just blueprints to build this place back in the 1890s! Picture it: the year is 1891, and the University of Nebraska is dreaming big, sketching out a new library while counting every last dime. The initial price tag made everyone’s wallets shudder, so they had to bargain down the cost, all during a time when the economy was harder to predict than Nebraska weather. Administrators, with names as grand as their ambitions-James Hulme Canfield, George Edwin MacLean, and Charles Henry Morrill-hauled themselves down to the legislature, probably hoping their best puppy-dog eyes would convince the government to fork over tens of thousands of dollars.
Construction began in fits and starts-first the main building, then the reinforced north wing. The ever-watchful Canfield kept a close eye on those busy workers, not wanting the new library to end up being a pile of fancy bricks with a basement full of leaks like the last few campus projects. When they finally finished, they created a masterpiece in the Richardsonian Romanesque style: Colorado sandstone and red brick, chunky arches, grand skylights, and even an east-facing tower, which in 1895 looked out over the bustling campus green.
Imagine walking inside back then-books everywhere, sunlight streaming through skylights, maybe echoes of students whispering about the latest discoveries, or someone from the art department lugging canvases up the stairs. There was even a whole floor for the Nebraska State Historical Society in the basement (I bet they had a few spooky stories down there). But as the years rolled on, the library’s shelves grew crowded and creaky, and soon they needed a new home for all those books.
By 1945, the books and historic artifacts moved out, making way for the next chapter-the place even got a brief stint as “Navy Hall” after WWII before it became the hub for up-and-coming architects. Over the decades, it’s changed, with glassy additions, renovations, and all sorts of expansions, yet it remains the oldest building still doing its job for the university.
So as you stand here, just imagine the generations that have passed through these doors-for research, for art, or maybe just to find a sunny reading nook. Who knows, maybe if you listen closely, you’ll hear a faint whisper from the old library shelves: “Read fast, the next class is coming!”
