Buckman Hall
Encyclopedia
Murphree Area is an historic residence hall complex on the northern edge of the University of Florida
campus in Gainesville, Florida
. The complex is adjacent to University Avenue, one of the major public roads that serve the university and define its boundaries. It was the university's first residence area and the last one to become co-ed. The Murphree Area complex is named for Albert A. Murphree
, the second president of the university, who served from 1909 to 1927. It consists of the following five residence buildings, all built between 1905 and 1939:
, the member of the Florida Legislature
who wrote the Buckman Act, which created the modern University of Florida in 1905. Thomas Hall was named for Gainesville
mayor William Reuben Thomas
who supported the donation of 517 acres (2.1 km²) of land and $40,000 from Gainesville to the state so that the Florida Legislature would build the university in Gainesville rather than in Lake City
.
The buildings are constructed of brick
, have three and a half floors, and are late Gothic Revival
-Tudorbethan
in style
. The buildings were designed by architect William Augustus Edwards
of the firm of Edwards and Walters, then based in Columbia, South Carolina
, and were built by Jacksonville
-based contractor
W.T. Hadlow at a cost of $75,250 per building.
Both buildings were designed for student housing but have served many uses, and in their early history were used to house the entire university. Buckman Hall contained a six-bed infirmary
, gym
nasium, and an apartment for a professor (the "officer-in-charge"). Thomas Hall contained administration offices in the north section, classroom
s, laboratories
, an auditorium
, a library
, a dining room
, and a kitchen
in the center sections, and an agricultural laboratory in the south section. Both buildings had hardwood floors and potbellied stoves
(for which the university provided wood for students to burn). In 1906, students paid $2.50 in rent to live in the halls.
The collections of the Florida Museum of Natural History
were for a time displayed at Thomas Hall.
In 1911, final plans were made for the construction of four additional buildings: an agriculture building (Floyd Hall), the University Commons Building (Cafeteria), the language hall (Anderson Hall), and the College of Education building (Peabody Hall). When these facilities were completed in fall 1913 (after a delay in funding for the Language Hall and Education Building), parts of Thomas Hall were left vacant, and Thomas Hall was renovated for use as a residence hall, opening in 1914.
and concrete
, at a cost estimated to be between $37,000 and $54,000.
In 1974, Thomas Hall was added to the National Register of Historic Places
, with the register reading
A press release issued when Thomas Hall was added to register told the story of the campus legend of "Old Steve," the ghost
who haunts Murphree Area, the last all-male residence area (it was designated co-ed in 1972). According to the legend, "Old Steve" was the original head cook on campus who worked in the kitchen in the center of Thomas Hall, beneath the classrooms and library. The legend states that Old Steve disrupted the campus through his shouting and cursing at his kitchen crew, the banging of pots and pans, the hissing of steam, and the loud crackling of fire and pans as lunch was prepared—the same sounds heard when the steam heating system in the Murphree Area halls is turned on every fall.
and thrown breakers
, with four to six residents sharing a 15-amp
service. In 2000, a $2.5 million four-year electrical upgrade project began with the aim of providing at least one 20-amp circuit per student. The project required total rewiring of the halls—from transformer
s to each outlet and switch
—and the installation of a new 23,000-volt primary distribution switch.
In 2002, a $500,000 project to landscape
the university’s historic area (the Murphree Area courtyard and University Avenue area) began when Florida alumni Herb and Catherine Yardley of Fort Lauderdale
gave $250,000 to be matched by the university. Landscape architecture students at the university assisted in the design, which includes proposed sidewalk
s, landscaping plants and design, walls, and seating areas.
Thomas Hall is presently co-ed by section and occupied by 170 residents.
University of Florida
The University of Florida is an American public land-grant, sea-grant, and space-grant research university located on a campus in Gainesville, Florida. The university traces its historical origins to 1853, and has operated continuously on its present Gainesville campus since September 1906...
campus in Gainesville, Florida
Gainesville, Florida
Gainesville is the largest city in, and the county seat of, Alachua County, Florida, United States as well as the principal city of the Gainesville, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area . The preliminary 2010 Census population count for Gainesville is 124,354. Gainesville is home to the sixth...
. The complex is adjacent to University Avenue, one of the major public roads that serve the university and define its boundaries. It was the university's first residence area and the last one to become co-ed. The Murphree Area complex is named for Albert A. Murphree
Albert A. Murphree
Albert Alexander Murphree was an American college professor and university president. Murphree was a native of Alabama, and became a mathematics instructor after earning his bachelor's degree...
, the second president of the university, who served from 1909 to 1927. It consists of the following five residence buildings, all built between 1905 and 1939:
- Buckman HallBuckman Hall (Gainesville, Florida)Buckman Hall, an historic building located in Murphree Area on the University of Florida campus in Gainesville, Florida, United States. It was added to the U.S. National Register of Historic Places on January 11, 1974....
(1906) - Thomas HallThomas Hall (Gainesville, Florida)Thomas Hall, built in 1905, is a historic building located in Murphree Area on the campus of the University of Florida in Gainesville, Florida, United States...
(1906) - Sledd Hall (1929)
- Fletcher HallFletcher Hall (Gainesville, Florida)Fletcher Hall, originally called North Hall, is an historic dormitory building on the campus of the University of Florida in Gainesville, Florida, in the United States. It makes up half of the "F" in the "U.F." in the Murphee Area. The "U.F" in the building design can be seen from an aerial view...
(1939) - Murphree HallMurphree Hall (Gainesville, Florida)Murphree Hall is a historic student residence building located in the Murphree Area on the northern edge of the University of Florida campus in Gainesville, Florida. It was designed by architect Rudolph Weaver in the Collegiate Gothic style and completed in 1939. The building was named for Albert...
(1939)
Early history (1906–1939)
Buckman Hall and Thomas Hall were the first two university buildings to be built, and were dedicated on September 27, 1906. Buckman Hall was named for Henry Holland BuckmanHenry Holland Buckman
Henry Holland Buckman was an attorney from Duval County, Florida, who became a legislator in the Florida Legislature and served on the Judiciary Committee...
, the member of the Florida Legislature
Florida Legislature
The Florida State Legislature is the term often used to refer to the two houses that act as the state legislature of the U.S. state of Florida. The Florida Constitution states that "The legislative power of the state shall be vested in a legislature of the State of Florida," composed of a Senate...
who wrote the Buckman Act, which created the modern University of Florida in 1905. Thomas Hall was named for Gainesville
Gainesville, Florida
Gainesville is the largest city in, and the county seat of, Alachua County, Florida, United States as well as the principal city of the Gainesville, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area . The preliminary 2010 Census population count for Gainesville is 124,354. Gainesville is home to the sixth...
mayor William Reuben Thomas
William Reuben Thomas
William Reuben Thomas was a politician and businessman from Gainesville, Florida.-Background:Thomas was a native of Gainesville, Florida. After graduating college he became a teacher at the East Florida Seminary...
who supported the donation of 517 acres (2.1 km²) of land and $40,000 from Gainesville to the state so that the Florida Legislature would build the university in Gainesville rather than in Lake City
Lake City, Florida
Lake City is the county seat of Columbia County, Florida, in the United States. In 2009, the U.S. Census Bureau estimated the city's population at 12,614. In addition, it is the Principal City of the Lake City Micropolitan Statistical Area, which is composed of Columbia County, and had an...
.
The buildings are constructed of brick
Brick
A brick is a block of ceramic material used in masonry construction, usually laid using various kinds of mortar. It has been regarded as one of the longest lasting and strongest building materials used throughout history.-History:...
, have three and a half floors, and are late Gothic Revival
Gothic Revival architecture
The Gothic Revival is an architectural movement that began in the 1740s in England...
-Tudorbethan
Tudorbethan architecture
The Tudor Revival architecture of the 20th century , first manifested itself in domestic architecture beginning in the United Kingdom in the mid to late 19th century based on a revival of aspects of Tudor style. It later became an influence in some other countries, especially the British colonies...
in style
Architectural style
Architectural styles classify architecture in terms of the use of form, techniques, materials, time period, region and other stylistic influences. It overlaps with, and emerges from the study of the evolution and history of architecture...
. The buildings were designed by architect William Augustus Edwards
William Augustus Edwards
William Augustus Edwards, also known as William A. Edwards, was an Atlanta-based American architect renowned for the educational buildings, courthouses and other public and private buildings that he designed in Florida, Georgia and his native South Carolina.- Early life and education :William...
of the firm of Edwards and Walters, then based in Columbia, South Carolina
Columbia, South Carolina
Columbia is the state capital and largest city in the U.S. state of South Carolina. The population was 129,272 according to the 2010 census. Columbia is the county seat of Richland County, but a portion of the city extends into neighboring Lexington County. The city is the center of a metropolitan...
, and were built by Jacksonville
Jacksonville, Florida
Jacksonville is the largest city in the U.S. state of Florida in terms of both population and land area, and the largest city by area in the contiguous United States. It is the county seat of Duval County, with which the city government consolidated in 1968...
-based contractor
General contractor
A general contractor is responsible for the day-to-day oversight of a construction site, management of vendors and trades, and communication of information to involved parties throughout the course of a building project.-Description:...
W.T. Hadlow at a cost of $75,250 per building.
Both buildings were designed for student housing but have served many uses, and in their early history were used to house the entire university. Buckman Hall contained a six-bed infirmary
Hospital
A hospital is a health care institution providing patient treatment by specialized staff and equipment. Hospitals often, but not always, provide for inpatient care or longer-term patient stays....
, gym
Gym
The word γυμνάσιον was used in Ancient Greece, that mean a locality for both physical and intellectual education of young men...
nasium, and an apartment for a professor (the "officer-in-charge"). Thomas Hall contained administration offices in the north section, classroom
Classroom
A classroom is a room in which teaching or learning activities can take place. Classrooms are found in educational institutions of all kinds, including public and private schools, corporations, and religious and humanitarian organizations...
s, laboratories
Laboratory
A laboratory is a facility that provides controlled conditions in which scientific research, experiments, and measurement may be performed. The title of laboratory is also used for certain other facilities where the processes or equipment used are similar to those in scientific laboratories...
, an auditorium
Auditorium
An auditorium is a room built to enable an audience to hear and watch performances at venues such as theatres. For movie theaters, the number of auditoriums is expressed as the number of screens.- Etymology :...
, a library
Library
In a traditional sense, a library is a large collection of books, and can refer to the place in which the collection is housed. Today, the term can refer to any collection, including digital sources, resources, and services...
, a dining room
Dining room
A dining room is a room for consuming food. In modern times it is usually adjacent to the kitchen for convenience in serving, although in medieval times it was often on an entirely different floor level...
, and a kitchen
Kitchen
A kitchen is a room or part of a room used for cooking and food preparation.In the West, a modern residential kitchen is typically equipped with a stove, a sink with hot and cold running water, a refrigerator and kitchen cabinets arranged according to a modular design. Many households have a...
in the center sections, and an agricultural laboratory in the south section. Both buildings had hardwood floors and potbellied stoves
Potbelly stove
A potbelly stove is a cast-iron wood-burning stove, round with a bulge in the middle. The name is derived from the resemblance of the stove to that of a fat man's pot belly. They were designed to heat large spaces and were often found in train stations or one-room schoolhouses...
(for which the university provided wood for students to burn). In 1906, students paid $2.50 in rent to live in the halls.
The collections of the Florida Museum of Natural History
Florida Museum of Natural History
The Florida Museum of Natural History is the State of Florida's official state-sponsored and chartered natural history museum. Its main facilities are located on the campus of the University of Florida in Gainesville, Florida....
were for a time displayed at Thomas Hall.
In 1911, final plans were made for the construction of four additional buildings: an agriculture building (Floyd Hall), the University Commons Building (Cafeteria), the language hall (Anderson Hall), and the College of Education building (Peabody Hall). When these facilities were completed in fall 1913 (after a delay in funding for the Language Hall and Education Building), parts of Thomas Hall were left vacant, and Thomas Hall was renovated for use as a residence hall, opening in 1914.
Later history (1940–2000)
In 1940, Thomas Hall was linked to Fletcher and Sledd Halls, forming a "UF" shape that can be seen from the air. From 1940 to 1949, the interiors of Buckman and Thomas Halls were renovated, and the wood structures were replaced by steelSteel
Steel is an alloy that consists mostly of iron and has a carbon content between 0.2% and 2.1% by weight, depending on the grade. Carbon is the most common alloying material for iron, but various other alloying elements are used, such as manganese, chromium, vanadium, and tungsten...
and concrete
Concrete
Concrete is a composite construction material, composed of cement and other cementitious materials such as fly ash and slag cement, aggregate , water and chemical admixtures.The word concrete comes from the Latin word...
, at a cost estimated to be between $37,000 and $54,000.
In 1974, Thomas Hall was added to the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
, with the register reading
- 1905–1906, Edwards and Walters, architects. Brick, 3½ stories, H-shaped, hipped and pitched roof sections; crenulated parapet interrupted by stepped gables placed over a division, each with its own entrance and bay window; regular fenestration, stone quoins, elaborate arched large stone scroll brackets; connected to another building at E end of S wing. Late Gothic Revival. One of first 2 buildings on University of Florida campus.
A press release issued when Thomas Hall was added to register told the story of the campus legend of "Old Steve," the ghost
Ghost
In traditional belief and fiction, a ghost is the soul or spirit of a deceased person or animal that can appear, in visible form or other manifestation, to the living. Descriptions of the apparition of ghosts vary widely from an invisible presence to translucent or barely visible wispy shapes, to...
who haunts Murphree Area, the last all-male residence area (it was designated co-ed in 1972). According to the legend, "Old Steve" was the original head cook on campus who worked in the kitchen in the center of Thomas Hall, beneath the classrooms and library. The legend states that Old Steve disrupted the campus through his shouting and cursing at his kitchen crew, the banging of pots and pans, the hissing of steam, and the loud crackling of fire and pans as lunch was prepared—the same sounds heard when the steam heating system in the Murphree Area halls is turned on every fall.
Present day (2001–Present)
Increased electrical demands of students put heavy burdens on Thomas Hall, draining power and causing circuit overloadsOvercurrent
In electricity supply, overcurrent or excess current is a situation where a larger than intended electric current exists through a conductor, leading to excessive generation of heat, and the risk of fire or damage to equipment. Possible causes for overcurrent include short circuits, excessive load,...
and thrown breakers
Circuit breaker
A circuit breaker is an automatically operated electrical switch designed to protect an electrical circuit from damage caused by overload or short circuit. Its basic function is to detect a fault condition and, by interrupting continuity, to immediately discontinue electrical flow...
, with four to six residents sharing a 15-amp
Ampere
The ampere , often shortened to amp, is the SI unit of electric current and is one of the seven SI base units. It is named after André-Marie Ampère , French mathematician and physicist, considered the father of electrodynamics...
service. In 2000, a $2.5 million four-year electrical upgrade project began with the aim of providing at least one 20-amp circuit per student. The project required total rewiring of the halls—from transformer
Transformer
A transformer is a device that transfers electrical energy from one circuit to another through inductively coupled conductors—the transformer's coils. A varying current in the first or primary winding creates a varying magnetic flux in the transformer's core and thus a varying magnetic field...
s to each outlet and switch
Switch
In electronics, a switch is an electrical component that can break an electrical circuit, interrupting the current or diverting it from one conductor to another....
—and the installation of a new 23,000-volt primary distribution switch.
In 2002, a $500,000 project to landscape
Landscape
Landscape comprises the visible features of an area of land, including the physical elements of landforms such as mountains, hills, water bodies such as rivers, lakes, ponds and the sea, living elements of land cover including indigenous vegetation, human elements including different forms of...
the university’s historic area (the Murphree Area courtyard and University Avenue area) began when Florida alumni Herb and Catherine Yardley of Fort Lauderdale
Fort Lauderdale, Florida
Fort Lauderdale is a city in the U.S. state of Florida, on the Atlantic coast. It is the county seat of Broward County. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 165,521. It is a principal city of the South Florida metropolitan area, which was home to 5,564,635 people at the 2010...
gave $250,000 to be matched by the university. Landscape architecture students at the university assisted in the design, which includes proposed sidewalk
Sidewalk
A sidewalk, or pavement, footpath, footway, and sometimes platform, is a path along the side of a road. A sidewalk may accommodate moderate changes in grade and is normally separated from the vehicular section by a curb...
s, landscaping plants and design, walls, and seating areas.
Thomas Hall is presently co-ed by section and occupied by 170 residents.
See also
- History of the University of FloridaHistory of the University of FloridaThe history of the University of Florida is firmly tied to the history of public education in the state of Florida. The University of Florida, colloquially known as "Florida" or "UF," originated as several distinct institutions that were merged to create a single state-supported university by the...
- List of University of Florida buildings
- List of Presidents of the University of Florida
- University of Florida Campus Historic DistrictUniversity of Florida Campus Historic DistrictThe University of Florida Campus Historic District is a historic district on the campus of the University of Florida in Gainesville, Florida. The district, bounded by West University Avenue, Southwest 13th Street, Stadium Road and North-South Drive, encompasses approximately and contains 11 listed...
- University of Florida student housingUniversity of Florida student housingStudent housing at University of Florida is governed by the Division of Student Affairs, and provides housing for undergraduate, graduate, and professional students on and off-campus.Approximately 7,500 students live in single-student residence halls...