Photograph of an engraving of the University Building on Butler Universitys College Avenue campus

Description:	Photograph of a Stephen H. Gimber engraving of the University Building on Butler Universitys first campus. The engraving can be found in the 1862 book Biographical Sketches of the Pioneer Preachers of Indiana by Madison Evans. The engraving appears as part of a chapter titled Northwestern Christian University, written by A. R. Benton, then president of the faculty. At the time of the buildings construction, the University went by its original name, North Western Christian University, which it used from 1855 until 1877. The engraving is based on architect William Tinsleys plans, but only the west wing was ever constructed. Referred to as the University Building in North Western Christian University catalogs, the building was designed in the Collegiate Gothic or Gothic Revival architectural style. Located near the northeast corner of what is now the intersection of College Avenue and 13th Street in Indianapolis, construction on the building began in 1854 and was completed in 1855, with the first day of college classes beginning on November 1, 1855. The University Building was an L-shaped, three story building built of brick with stone quoins and additional stone details around the windows and between each story. The building could accommodate approximately 300 students. Inside, the central staircases were made of black walnut and there was room for a chapel, offices, four recitation rooms, and rooms for literary societies. The University planned to expand the building as the school grew, but this never happened as the University moved to Irvington in 1875. Both the Indianapolis Orphans Asylum and the Physio-Medical College of Indiana occupied the building after the University moved, but after the Physio-Medical College closed in 1909, the building was demolished in 1910. This photograph was created for a display of items related to Dr. James Ford and his family, developed for the June 29, 2006, dedication of the Ford Salon in Robertson Hall. A Wabash, Indiana physician, Ford served as the Universitys commissioner from 1850 to 1852, and was a founding member of the board of directors from 1852 to 1861. His great grandson, Richard Edwin Ford, provided a generous gift to the University, allowing the salon to be created beneath the Eidson-Duckwall Recital Hall. The space is also named in honor of Richard Fords grandfather, Edwin Holton Ford, who was a student at the University from 1878 to 1879, as well as any of their descendants who attended or will attend the University.
Origin:	2006
Source:	http://palni.contentdm.oclc.org/cdm/ref/collection/BldgsGrnds/id/1494
Collection:	Butler University Buildings and Grounds Collection
Rights:	http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/NoC-US/1.0/
Copyright:	No Copyright - United States
Geography:	Indianapolis, Indiana, United States, 39.784381, -86.144685 39.784381 -86.144685
Subjects:	Engraving Gimber, Stephen Henry, 1810-1862 Butler University--History North Western Christian University (Indianapolis, Ind.)--History Indianapolis (Ind.)--History College buildings College facilities Indianapolis Orphans Asylum Trees University Building College Avenue campus Physio-Medical College of Indiana Collegiate Gothic Ford, Edwin Holton, 1861-1933 Ford, Richard Edwin, 1939-2014 Ford Salon Robertson Hall Religion Building

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