Take a good look at Morrill Hall rising before you-doesn’t it look like the kind of building with stories to tell? Let’s hop back to 1891. Imagine wagons rumbling along, workers bustling around, and the smell of fresh-cut stone filling the air. They built this entire hall for less than $30,000-can you believe it? These days, that wouldn’t even get you a parking spot on campus! Justin Smith Morrill, the building’s namesake, is the reason Iowa State exists as a land-grant college. The exterior stonework even lists ‘library,’ ‘museum,’ and ‘chapel’-its original triple purpose-so if these walls could talk, they’d have quite a few tales to tell.
There’s a twist, though. In the 1990s, Morrill Hall became unsafe-a little too historic for comfort. It emptied out in 1996, and while everyone waited to see its fate, it made the National Register of Historic Places that same year-fancy, right? Fast forward to 2005, when the community rallied and raised $9 million to bring Morrill Hall back to life, this time as the Christian Petersen Art Museum. Oh, and those odd chimneys at each corner? They’re for natural ventilation, not smoke. Just goes to show, even the chimneys here have a breath of fresh air!
