Preview
Date of Work
Circa 1920
Publisher
North Dakota Drug Company
Identification #
UAP 21326
Description
A color postcard of Old Main, circa 1920. Old Main was the University's first building and served many purposes. UND laid the Cornerstone for Old Main on October 2, 1883. The building opened for student enrollment on September 8, 1884. The building first contained all recitation rooms, laboratories, the campus library, and offices. On June 16, 1887, a tornado destroyed the Western end of the building, and UND rebuilt Old Main in the exact way it had been previously. In 1912, Old Main became Merrifield Hall after UND President Webster Merrifield. However, in 1924, Old Main was condemned due to a rapid settling of the foundation. UND then removed the top two floors of the Old Main building. In 1930, Old Main still had inadequate foundations, and Merrifield Hall became the building it is today. Old Main became Old Main again until it was razed in 1963. In the same year, UND erected the Old Main Memorial Sphere on the same site where the building once stood. (Information from Chandler's History of All Buildings, and UND's History website).
Subject
Old Main; Sidewalks; Trees; Sidewalks; Trees; College buildings; Stairs; Building; Brick; Windows; Doorways
Places Depicted
North Dakota--Grand Forks; North Dakota
Organizations Depicted
University of North Dakota; Main (Grand Forks, N.D. : Building)
Rights
Elwyn B. Robinson Department of Special Collections, Chester Fritz Library, University of North Dakota