Restoration for SMµ÷½ÌËù’s First BuildingÌý
In the mid-1920s, Old Main — SMµ÷½ÌËù Boulder’s three-story, red brick building designed by architect Erastus H. Dimick — was in poor shape after only a half-century of use. Some even called for its destruction, including then-campus architect Charles Klauder, who designed several university buildings in the Tuscan Vernacular style. But high construction costs in the 1920s and a lack of funds to follow Klauder’s original campus design plan saved Old Main. The building went through a major structural renovation instead, solidifying its status as a campus classic. In early 2024, pending Board of Regents approval, work will begin on a new structural restoration project to benefit the building. Old Main’s legacy will live on.Ìý
SMµ÷½ÌËù's first president, Joseph A. Sewall, and family members — his wife and their five children — lived in Old Main when it first opened
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The second floor of the building contained a room in 1878 that housed the university’s first library, which held 1,500 books
The third floor of the building is where the SMµ÷½ÌËù Medical School began. There were two students, and SMµ÷½ÌËù's first president taught classes.
During the renovation of the 1980s, the Old Main Chapel was rotated 90 degrees.
Photos courtesy Heritage Center (Sewall, chapel, sketch); Denver Public Library Special Collections, X-11813 (library); Richard Ebert/Encircle Photos (middle photo); AbobeStock/arybickii (bricks)Ìý