There are fifteen buildings on or very close to the
Main Quad that comprise the main campus of the university. They are listed clockwise with the Illini Union on the north side as the top:
Illini Union The
Illini Union is the
student union at the northernmost point of the Main Quad and lies on Green Street. Its Georgian Revival style was conceived by Ernest L. Stouffer, university architect, and Howard Cheney, consulting architect. The cupola, clock, and bell from University Hall (demolished) are retained in the Union. Much of the original woodwork was carved by John C. Freiburg. The building was constructed in 1939–40; a $6.9 million addition in 1960 dramatically increased its size and usefulness. The Union replaced the University Hall, one of the first buildings on the campus. It is the center of student activities and hundreds of registered student organizations. Numerous expos, conferences, and events are held in the Union's ballrooms and facilities. There is a full-service underground food court and bowling alley as well as a university operated hotel in the upper floors.
Harker Hall Harker Hall is immediately east of the Union and west of the Natural History Building. The building previously housed the Department of Chemistry and School of Law. The building was named after Judge Oliver Harker, who served as the Dean of the College of Law from 1903 to 1916. Harker Hall underwent extensive restoration in 1992 and is home to the University of Illinois Foundation, a non-profit organization that is responsible for the fund raising effort for the University of Illinois system.
Natural History Building The
Natural History Building marks the northeast corner of the LAS buildings and has been largely evacuated as a result of structural issues discovered in 2010. The building was designed by
Nathan Clifford Ricker and was placed on the
National Register of Historic Places, and has several additions that expanded the building to the south in the early 20th century. The building used to house the university's natural history museum with exhibits on
geology and
paleontology. The majority of these exhibits have been relocated to storage facilities or became part of the
Spurlock Museum. The building was set to undergo a $70 million renovation beginning in 2014, and upon completion in 2016, will house the School of Earth, Society and Environment (which includes the departments of Atmospheric Sciences, Geology, and Geography and Geographic Information Science) and teaching labs of the School of Integrative Biology.
Noyes Laboratory Noyes Laboratory is home to the
chemistry department and lies directly south of the Natural History Building. The building is in the
Richardsonian Romanesque style. Built in 1902, the Noyes Laboratory was the largest chemistry building in the nation upon its completion. The building was designated a
National Historic Chemical Landmark by the
American Chemical Society in 2002.
Chemistry Annex The
Chemistry Annex provides additional facilities for the chemistry department; among them labs, classrooms, study halls and the Chemistry Learning Center, where students can receive additional assistance from
TAs and professors. While Chemistry Annex is physically attached to the north side of Davenport Hall it is connected to Noyes Lab via a tunnel.
Davenport Hall Completed in 1899, the
Davenport Hall is one of the oldest academic buildings on campus. Davenport Hall is immediately south of Noyes Lab and the Chemistry Annex. It is still labeled with its original name, "College of Agriculture," but today is home to the departments of
geography and
anthropology. The building was named after
Eugene Davenport, the former dean of the College of Agriculture.
Literatures, Cultures & Linguistics Building The
Literatures, Cultures & Linguistics Building (formerly known as the "Foreign Languages Building") is south of Davenport Hall and is home to internationally recognized research and teaching that focuses on the analysis of culture, broadly understood. A popular myth is that the building's distinctive architecture was a result of its being designed to house a supercomputer on campus called
PLATO. The building was supposedly designed so that if it was bombed, the building's shell would fall outwards, protecting the supercomputer on the inside. It is also rumored that the building's interior layout was a result of trying to confuse Soviet spies and prevent them from stealing secrets from the supercomputer. In reality, the building's architecture is not actually all that unique and was a popular style of the day. In fact, just a few blocks to the west, one may find the Speech and Hearing Sciences Building, which is a two-story clone of the building. PLATO itself was real, but referred not to a secret government program, but rather to the first "modern" electronic learning system, the predecessor of course software like WebCT and Mallard. The mainframe computer that ran the PLATO system was located in north campus, in a building which used to reside on the west side of the Bardeen Quad.
Foellinger Auditorium Foellinger Auditorium marks the southern terminus of the Main Quad, directly facing the Illini Union. Originally known as the "University Auditorium," the structure was renovated as part of a donation from Helene Foellinger of
Fort Wayne, Indiana. The structure was designed by Charles Blackall, a prominent Boston-based architect who specialized in theater design. It is used for stage productions, speaker presentations, and large lecture classes.
Gregory Hall Gregory Hall lies due west of Foellinger and houses numerous departments within the
College of Media and LAS, including
philosophy,
economics, and
history. The building is named in honor of John Milton Gregory, the former University President.
Lincoln Hall Lincoln Hall is northwest of Foellinger and is home to the College of Liberal Arts & Science, the largest college on campus. The building centers around a large auditorium. A big bust of
Abraham Lincoln outside the entrance to the theater has its
nose polished and nearly worn away after decades of students' rubbing it for good luck prior to a test. Prior to the opening of the Spurlock Museum across the campus, Lincoln was the home of the World Heritage Museum. In Spring 2007, Illinois Governor
Rod Blagojevich's proposed capital budget for the Fiscal Year 2008 called for $55.1 million for the $66.4 million renovation project. The building reopened for classes in Spring 2012.
Eternal Flame The free standing pillar between Lincoln Hall and the English Building on the Main Quad is the
Eternal Flame. Formerly an ever-burning oil lamp, it is now topped with an electric light. It is a memorial from the class of 1912.
English Building Built in 1905, the
English Building was designed by
McKim, Mead & White, a firm known for
Beaux-Arts architecture. It was originally known as the "Woman's Building." At that time, according to Senator Henry Dunlap, it was supposed to "provide for every aspect of a women's education." This included hosting Household Science with its practice apartment, practice kitchens and dietetics classroom, the Child Development Study Program, a gymnasium, and a pool. The plan of the earliest building only included the westernmost portion of the building, as well as parts of the southern and northern legs. Influenced by a new campus plan, an addition, designed by William Carbys Zimmerman, was added in 1913 to the Quad side of the Women's Building. This new addition of classrooms and meeting rooms formed the square shaped plan and called for the creation the East side, two-story, white portico. Another addition was completed in 1923 by James M. White. In 1947, the Woman's Building was renamed Bevier Hall in honor of
Isabel Bevier, the founder of the Home Economics Department in 1900. This name lasted until the new Bevier Hall on Goodwin Avenue was dedicated in 1956. At that time it was renamed the English Building as the English Department took over. Among students on campus, the
legend has it that a student drowned in a swimming pool and continues to haunt the building today. Today, the English Building is home to the English department and lies north of Lincoln Hall.
Henry Administration Building The
David Dodds Henry Administration Building is north of the English Building and houses primarily administrative offices, including
University Student Financial Services & Cashier Operations (USFSCO), as well as several classrooms. The building is named after David Henry, the university president from 1955 to 1971.
Altgeld Hall Named after former Illinois governor
John Peter Altgeld,
Altgeld Hall marks the northwest corner of the Quad between the Henry Administration Building and the Illini Union on the corner of Wright and Green Streets. Opened as the Library Hall, the building also served as the Law Building and now is the home of the Department of Mathematics. Designed by
Nathan Clifford Ricker, the
Romanesque building was the compromise between John Altgeld's preference of
Gothic revival style and the classical architecture desired by the board of trustees. The tower was modeled after the
Allegheny County Courthouse in
Pittsburgh and the entryway after the
Ames Free Library in
Easton, Massachusetts. The building is one of
Altgeld's castles, inspired by Governor Altgeld's interest in Germanic architecture;
Southern Illinois University Carbondale,
Illinois State University,
Eastern Illinois University and
Northern Illinois University have similar structures. The tower has housed the
Altgeld Chimes since 1920.
Alma Mater Planted between Altgeld Hall and the Illini Union is the
bronze Alma Mater statue by sculptor
Lorado Taft. The 10,000-pound statue depicts a mother-figure wearing academic robes and flanked by two attendant male and female figures representing "Learning" and "Labor" after the university's motto. The 1929 statue is iconic for the university and a popular backdrop for student graduation photos. == Nearby buildings ==