Saturday, December 02, 2006

Buildings Tell Stories on UNR Campus


Mackay School of Mines, Reno

UNR looks like a college campus with its ivy-covered brick buildings. In fact, in the 1940s moviemakers thought UNR was such a picture-perfect college campus that it was the setting for several films including “Mr. Belvedere Goes to College,” and “Mother Is a Freshman.”

Much of the credit for UNR’s classic college environment goes to the heirs of Comstock silver baron John Mackay. In the early part of the 20th century, the Mackay family donated more than $1.5 million to establish the Mackay School of Mining as well as to develop the Quad, a science hall, and other campus buildings.

Noted 19th century New York architect Stanford White’s firm designed both the Quad (short for quadrangle, which is the large rectangular open area in the center of the campus) and the mining school. White was also responsible for the design of the original Madison Square Garden in New York.

The firm based the plan for the elm-lined Quad on Thomas Jefferson’s design of the University of Virginia Lawn, which is also an open expanse of grass lined with trees that serves as the heart of that university.

Most of UNR’s most historic and picturesque buildings surround the Quad. In fact, that part of the campus has been designated as a National Historic District.
At the north end of the Quad is the Mackay School of Mines Building, erected in 1908, and commissioned by Clarence Mackay, John’s son.

The mining school is a picturesque two-story, brick and stone structure with Georgian details that boasts four 28-foot Tuscan-style columns of Indiana limestone.

The building houses the DeLaMare Library, one of the world’s largest collections of mining books as well as the W.M. Keck Museum, which has more than 6,000 mineral samples and fossils along with historic mining tools and equipment.

Additionally, it is also the home of the Mary B. Ansari Map Library, which contains some 136,000 maps, and a pair of public exhibition rooms displaying an old-time mining engineer’s office and pieces from the fabulous Mackay Silver Collection.

The latter was designed in 1876 by the famed Tiffany’s jewelers of New York. The full collection includes 1,350 pieces crafted by 200 silversmiths over a two-year period, using 14,718 ounces of Comstock silver.

In front of the school is a bronze statue of John Mackay that is noteworthy because it was created by sculptor Gutzon Borglum, who later carved the presidential faces into Mount Rushmore (from 1927 to 1941).

At the other end of the Quad is Morrill Hall, the first building erected on the Reno campus after the state relocated the university to Reno from Elko.

Constructed in 1885, the structure is named for U.S. Senator Justin S. Morrill of Vermont, who authored the 1862 Land-Grant College Act, which led to the development of the University of Nevada and other colleges throughout the country.

Morrill Hall is a four-story brick building in the Second Empire architectural style. It originally housed the entire university offices and classrooms. The structure is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Other historically significant buildings on the UNR campus include:
•Lincoln Hall and Manzanita Hall (both built in 1896), which have served as student dormitories for more than a century. Lincoln Hall was constructed in a late 19th century architectural style known as Eclectic, which incorporated several popular styles of the time including Flemish gables, a Colonial Revival cupola, and Neo-Romanesque arches.

•Jones Visitors Center (1914), which was the university’s first library. It was designed by renowned Reno architect Frederick DeLongchamps, who was also responsible for the downtown Reno post office and the Washoe County Courthouse.

•Clark Administration Building (1927), which served as the university’s library from 1927 to 1962. The building is named after Alice McManus Clark, wife of William A. Clark, Jr., whose father was a U.S. Senator from Montana and namesake for Clark County, Nevada. Senator Clark was a wealthy 19th century mining and railroad magnate, who established the city of Las Vegas in 1905.

•Mackay Science Hall (1930), a Georgian-style building that was also designed by DeLongchamps. The brick and stone-pillared structure represented the final gift to the university from Clarence Mackay.

For a guided walking tour of the campus, contact UNR at 775-784-4700.

21 comments:

  1. Good story.
    My images of Nevada are at
    www.randomnevada.blogspot.com

    ReplyDelete
  2. Anonymous1:13 PM

    My rеlatives always say thаt I am ωaѕtіng mу tіme heгe at
    web, exсeρt I know I am gettіng knowledge еveryday bу геаԁing theѕ plеasаnt posts.


    Ϻy wеb-site ... zulutrade erfahrungen
    My site ::

    ReplyDelete
  3. Anonymous10:23 AM

    I seldоm сomment, hoωеvеr i did а feω ѕеaгching and wound up heге "Buildings Tell Stories on UNR Campus".
    And I ԁο have 2 quеstions for you
    if it's allright. Could it be just me or does it give the impression like some of these remarks appear like they are written by brain dead folks? :-P And, if you are posting at other places, I would like to keep up with everything new you have to post. Could you make a list of the complete urls of all your communal sites like your twitter feed, Facebook page or linkedin profile?

    Take a look at my homepage; samsung galaxy s3
    Also visit my website

    ReplyDelete
  4. Anonymous12:13 PM

    After looκing over a hаndful of the blοg articles οn your sitе, I seriously аppгeciate yοuг waу οf bloggіng.
    I addеd it to my bookmark site list anԁ wіll bе checking bacκ soоn.
    Take a look at my web sіte too and tеll me hοw you feel.


    my weblog: pikavippi
    My web-site :

    ReplyDelete
  5. Anonymous10:24 PM

    Hello, I гead your blogs like eνeгy week.

    Your wrіting style is awеsome, keep
    it uр!

    Feel fгee to surf to my blog pоst :
    : galaxy note 2
    My web page :

    ReplyDelete
  6. Anonymous12:36 AM

    certainlу liκe уouг ωeb-sіte hoωeveг you haѵe to check the
    spelling on seѵeгаl of your poѕtѕ.
    A numbeг οf thеm are rife ωith spelling рroblemѕ
    аnd I to fіnd it ѵery bothегsome
    to tell the rеаlity thеn аgain I will ceгtаinly come back аgain.


    Checκ out my page:
    My site -

    ReplyDelete
  7. Anonymous4:51 PM

    Thеse are in fact gгeаt ideaѕ
    in cоncerning blоggіng.
    You haνe tοuсhеd some nice factors heгe.
    Αny way keep uρ wrіnting.
    Feel free to visit my page :: buy 100 instagram followers

    ReplyDelete
  8. Anonymous4:47 AM

    obvіοuslу like your websіte howeνeг you need to сheсk the spelling οn seveгal
    of yоur poѕts. Many of them are rife with spellіng problеmѕ and I in finding
    it very tгoublesome to tell the reality neveгtheless I'll certainly come back again.

    Feel free to surf to my blog: http://best-retweet.com
    Here is my web page : twitter b2b marketing

    ReplyDelete
  9. Anonymous7:40 AM

    Hello mates, its impreѕsive post rеgaгding teachingand cοmpletely explained, keep іt up all the time.
    Also visit my blog post : ways to get instagram followers

    ReplyDelete
  10. Anonymous8:14 AM

    You actually make it seem so easy with your presentation
    but I find this topic to be actually something which
    I think I would never understand. It seems too complicated and extremely broad for me.
    I'm looking forward for your next post, I will try to get the hang of it!

    Here is my web-site - vapornine

    ReplyDelete
  11. Anonymous4:31 PM

    I loved as much as you will receive carried out right here.
    The sketch is tasteful, your authored subject matter stylish.
    nonetheless, you command get got an edginess
    over that you wish be delivering the following.
    unwell unquestionably come further formerly again
    since exactly the same nearly very often inside case you shield this
    increase.

    Feel free to surf to my webpage - instagram follwers

    ReplyDelete
  12. Anonymous4:50 PM

    I like what you guys are usually up too. This type of
    clever work and reporting! Keep up the amazing works
    guys I've incorporated you guys to my personal blogroll.

    Here is my blog post; hot to get instagram followers

    ReplyDelete
  13. Anonymous4:54 PM

    My brother recommended I might like this web site. He was totally right.
    This post actually made my day. You cann't imagine simply how much time I had spent for this info! Thanks!

    Also visit my web blog forex trading with binary options

    ReplyDelete
  14. Anonymous7:30 PM

    This is the perfect webpage for everyone who wishes
    to find out about this topic. You realize a whole lot its almost hard
    to argue with you (not that I personally would want to…HaHa).
    You definitely put a brand new spin on a subject that has been written about for a long time.
    Wonderful stuff, just excellent!

    Also visit my blog get followers

    ReplyDelete
  15. Anonymous9:25 AM

    Way cool! Some extremely valid points! I appreciate you writing this post plus the rest of the
    site is also very good.

    Feel free to visit my blog: aaa fx

    ReplyDelete
  16. Anonymous9:25 AM

    I’m not that much of a online reader to be honest but
    your blogs really nice, keep it up! I'll go ahead and bookmark your website to come back in the future. Many thanks

    Here is my web-site ... plateforme de trading option binaire

    ReplyDelete
  17. Anonymous2:17 PM

    I visited multiple web pages but the audio quality for
    audio songs existing at this site is actually wonderful.

    Have a look at my homepage :: get followers

    ReplyDelete
  18. Anonymous6:47 PM

    This is very interesting, You are a very skilled blogger.
    I've joined your feed and look forward to seeking more of your great post. Also, I've shared your website in my social networks!


    my blog post - get followers

    ReplyDelete
  19. Anonymous7:24 PM

    Woah! I'm really enjoying the template/theme of this website. It's simple, yet effective.
    A lot of times it's difficult to get that "perfect balance" between user friendliness and visual appearance. I must say you've done a
    excellent job with this. Also, the blog loads extremely quick for
    me on Safari. Exceptional Blog!

    Feel free to visit my blog post :: ava fx
    My web site - ava fx

    ReplyDelete
  20. Anonymous7:01 AM

    Great info. Lucky me I discovered your site by chance (stumbleupon).
    I've book marked it for later!

    Feel free to visit my webpage - zulutrade

    ReplyDelete
  21. Anonymous5:53 AM

    Asking questions are genuinely nice thing if you are not understanding anything
    fully, however this paragraph offers pleasant understanding even.



    Here is my web blog: kitchen in northern virginia

    ReplyDelete

Permanent Wave Society Brings Amusing Art to Great Basin Visitors

  Anyone traveling on State Route 488, the road that leads from the tiny eastern Nevada town of Baker to Great Basin National Park, will qui...