By Susan Wineberg

I came to the University of Michigan in the fall of 1964 as a transfer student from Northwestern University. Having grown up in Chicago and attended public schools there, I had been educated at an early age about the muscular architecture of Chicago.

In 8th grade, all students had to complete a "Chicago Notebook," and the emphasis was heavily weighted toward the city's architectural past and present. Learning that Chicago was the "inventor" of the skeletal steel skyscraper, I became proud of the rich architectural traditions that grew out of its swampy soil.

When I first arrived in Ann Arbor, I was not overwhelmed by the architecture of the Central Campus. I had to be educated regarding the clean simple lines of the work of Albert Kahn, whom I had never heard of before coming to Michigan. Some of the old buildings were still on campus, such as the Economics building and West Physics (now the site of the south wing of the Hatcher Graduate Library), but for the most part building activity of that time seemed to occur on what were then empty sites (such as the sites of the Modern Language Building and the Alumni Center).

I do remember loving the Law Quadrangle and especially the Clements Library, where I found they would actually let me study! The gorgeous Rackham Study Rooms later provided the needed quiet for reading when I was a graduate student in the Near East and Anthropology departments. And I loved walking into the foyer of Angell Hall and admiring the ceiling as I sped off to my classes on ancient Mesopotamia.

Then, in 1974, Ann Arbor celebrated the city's Sesquicentennial. The nation's Bicentennial followed 1976, and that same year the University Regents decided to demolish the Barbour-Waterman Gymnasium complex. This set of buildings, two gymnasiums designed about five years apart in the 1890s to house the gymnastic activities of males, and then females, was one of the few surviving examples of 19th century architecture left on the campus. My efforts to save those gyms introduced me to the local preservation community and led to a long-term involvement in preservation efforts in the city.

One of the positive outcomes of the unsuccessful attempt to save the Barbour-Waterman gyms from demolition was the listing of the Central Campus of the University on the National Register of Historic Places in 1978, despite opposition from the administration and the Regents. A district roughly extending from State Street on the west; Huron on the north; Fletcher, Geddes and Church on the east; and Monroe on the south was established.

Being on the registry does not necessarily protect a building from demolition. The designation applies only to structures built with federal funds. If a project does use federal money, or if it requires federal licensing or is undertaken by a federal agency, then the comments of the National Register Advisory Council must be sought (but not necessarily followed) before demolition, alteration or renovation.

Despite warnings by University officials that being on the National Registry would cause "inordinately high cost penalties on the University," the listing has not impeded the development of the Central Campus area over the last 15 years.

Many of the current building projects being undertaken by the University involve buildings on the National Register. One is Hill Auditorium, an acoustic gem finished in 1913 and designed by Albert Kahn of Detroit. Current plans call for restoration of the original interior design, which has been altered over the years in several renovations. While adding much-needed bathrooms for the public and dressing rooms for the performers, the plan is to restore as much of the original building as possible.

Kahn designed another building on the National Register, Angell Hall. Completed in 1922 or 1924 (sources disagree), it was originally conceived of as a monument to U-M President James B. Angell, who served from 1871-1909. Kahn created a massive classical façade along State Street which, with its eight massive Doric columns, illustrated his admiration for the Lincoln Memorial designed by his friend Henry Bacon in Washington.

Kahn commissioned New York sculptor Ulysses Bicci to design the bas relief over the door, which features traditional symbols associated with learning, and includes the University's seal. He also commissioned the DiLorenzo Studios of New York City to paint and design the coffered ceilings in the lobby. This same firm did the ceilings at the Clements and Hatcher Libraries–also Kahn buildings.

Next to the wide steps leading into Angell Hall's foyer are figures carved in stone representing History, Poetry, Philosophy, and the Arts. Its columns have often been the targets of campus dissenters: Nazi sympathizers defaced them in the 1940's, painting each with a number and ending with a swastika on the fifth column; in the 1960's, anti-Vietnam War protestors spray-painted them with anti-war slogans.

Current plans call for replacing and upgrading Angell Hall's infrastructural elements such as the heating and ventilation systems, and replacing windows if necessary (I hope it is not!) and the roof. Also planned is a modernization of the electrical system and building access to comply with current building codes and the Disabilities Act.

Over the years the University has begun to recognize the place of historic preservation in its planning for the Central Campus and acknowledges that "buildings of distinction" exist and should be maintained and preserved. As current projects such as the additions to Randall Lab and the Undergraduate Library illustrate, a conscious effort is being made to harmonize new buildings with the old, and to preserve the Central Campus as the historic center of the now sprawling campus.

Susan Wineberg '66 is the co-author (with Marjorie Reade) of Historic Buildings, Ann Arbor, Michigan (1992). Last December she received an M.S. in historic preservation from Eastern Michigan University.