Jordan Hall cornerstone

Description: The cornerstone of Jordan Hall is located near the northeast corner of the building. On November 10, 1927, a cornerstone laying ceremony was held at Jordan Hall. Rain in the morning and falling temperatures forced the ceremony to be moved from outside to the east wing of Jordan Hall, even though the building was still under construction. According to a description of the ceremony in the article Laying the Cornerstone, in the January 1928, issue of The Butler Alumnal Quarterly , hundreds of people attended the ceremony and it was broadcast on Station WKBF of the Hoosier Athletic Club (p. 152). Attendees at the ceremony included the president of the Butler University Board of Directors, Hilton U. Brown; Indianapolis Mayor, L. Ert Slack; and Arthur Jordan, who donated $1 million towards the construction of the building. During the ceremony, a time capsule was placed in the cornerstone. The copper box contained course catalogs, copies of local newspapers and the Butler Collegian from that week, the University charter, and photographs of the building, among other items. Jordan Hall opened for classes on September 17, 1928. On June 29, 1987, a multi-year, exterior renovation project began to repair the stonework on the building. In July 1991, the cornerstone was removed and found to be badly damaged by water. Unfortunately, the water had also entered the time capsule, destroying the contents inside the copper box. A replica, limestone cornerstone was created with weep holes, allowing water to drain through the stone. On November 8, 1991, almost 64 years after the original cornerstone ceremony, a new ceremony was held, during which a new time capsule was added to the new cornerstone. Items included reflected the University at that time such as a videotape of the Universitys 1991 student orientation; November 8, 1991, issues of local newspapers; an article from the Indianapolis Star announcing the start of the Persian Gulf War; and a program from the 1991 NCAA mens basketball final four.
Origin: 2002-06-12
Source: http://palni.contentdm.oclc.org/cdm/ref/collection/BldgsGrnds/id/1342
Collection: Butler University Buildings and Grounds Collection
Rights: http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC-EDU/1.0/
Copyright: In Copyright - Educational Use Permitted
Geography: Indianapolis, Indiana, United States, 39.839018, -86.171962
39.839018
-86.171962
Subjects: Butler University--Buildings
College buildings
Sidewalks
Cornerstone laying
Brown, Hilton U. (Hilton Ultimus), 1859-1958
Exterior lighting
Butler University--History
Indianapolis (Ind.)--History
Arthur Jordan Memorial Hall
Jordan Hall
Cornerstones
Jordan, Arthur, 1855-1934
Slack, L. Ert, 1874-1952
Fairview campus

Further information on this record can be found at its source.