Walking Back in Time: A Campus Architecture Tour

University Communication Author

09/19/2019 Added

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Where did Nebraska football take the field before Memorial Stadium? In this edition of Faculty 101, Kay Logan-Peters takes us to the site of Nebraska’s win over the Fighting Irish of Notre Dame. Dr. Logan-Peters is an architecture librarian, with a unique way of telling campus stories. Show Notes: Historic Campus Buildings ›› https://bit.ly/2knDs0k, Get Kay Logan-Peters’ Book ›› https://bit.ly/2kuJL2o, Virtual Reality Project ›› https://bit.ly/2RVlD3B

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[00:00:00.000](foot steps tapping)
[00:00:04.600]I'm outside walking across city campus
[00:00:06.860]at the University of Nebraska, Lincoln.
[00:00:08.867]The campus is filled with trees and plants,
[00:00:12.410]sculptures, fountains, benches
[00:00:14.410]where students can relax or study, so beautiful.
[00:00:17.938](ethereal music)
[00:00:20.100]But let's go back in time
[00:00:21.820]50 years, a hundred years, 150 years.
[00:00:27.540]What do you see and hear?
[00:00:29.780](wind whistling)
[00:00:32.840]It was nothing, it was empty.
[00:00:35.340]So what was here, right here where we're standing?
[00:00:37.618]This was grass.
[00:00:39.960]There was not a tree, there was not another building,
[00:00:42.910]there was no railroad, there was nothing.
[00:00:45.750]That's Kay Logan-Peters,
[00:00:47.222]architecture librarian and expert
[00:00:49.860]in how the university rose from dusty prairie
[00:00:52.860]to world class academic institution.
[00:00:55.361](inspiring music)
[00:00:59.300]Professor Logan-Peters knows all about the places
[00:01:01.936]and people who shaped the University of Nebraska.
[00:01:05.848]For example, did you know
[00:01:08.150]the university almost packed up and moved
[00:01:10.771]to what was then known as the Farm Campus,
[00:01:13.420]far from Downtown Lincoln?
[00:01:15.480]That was the plan in 1914.
[00:01:18.550]It went to a statewide vote, a referendum,
[00:01:22.800]which was a new law, that whole referendum law
[00:01:25.120]had just been created, so it was defeated in the referendum.
[00:01:29.150]I mean there were people all across the state voting.
[00:01:31.140]That was a big decision, and I think would have had
[00:01:34.220]a really lasting impact if we'd moved,
[00:01:37.360]I mean Lincoln would be different, a lot different
[00:01:39.729]if the stadium was out there at 33rd and Holdredge
[00:01:42.911]and not downtown.
[00:01:44.910]Of course, Memorial Stadium didn't exist back then,
[00:01:47.764]but football, oh yes.
[00:01:50.370]Big games played on Nebraska Field.
[00:01:52.849](crowds cheering)
[00:01:57.000]They had beat Notre Dame. (laughs)
[00:01:59.650]I think that was a lot of it, and you know, the whole state
[00:02:03.850]was kind of involved in football, kind of like now.
[00:02:06.810]It wasn't just students, and it wasn't just Lincoln,
[00:02:09.770]but everybody got on board right away.
[00:02:12.930]Coming up, find out the location of the original
[00:02:16.045]football end zone, and more about Kay Logan-Peters'
[00:02:19.750]love of campus architecture.
[00:02:22.100]That's this edition of Faculty 101.
[00:02:24.504](inspiring music)
[00:02:25.360]Okay, you should switch partners now.
[00:02:26.700]To be able to inspire young people.
[00:02:28.889](crowd laughing)
[00:02:30.060]Today's your finals.
[00:02:31.040]It's really rewarding.
[00:02:32.150]I love the students.
[00:02:34.140]Welcome to Faculty 101, life hacks and success stories
[00:02:38.280]from Nebraska Faculty.
[00:02:43.070]Time for orientation, who is Kay Logan-Peters?
[00:02:47.198](inspiring music)
[00:02:50.670]Architecture Hall represents the early years
[00:02:53.160]of the university, the only 19th century
[00:02:55.710]building on City Campus.
[00:02:57.229]Professor Logan-Peters has an office on the second floor,
[00:03:00.580]right in the middle of the Architecture Library.
[00:03:03.190]The Architecture Library is for all students,
[00:03:08.060]but our collections focus on architecture,
[00:03:10.569]interior design, landscape architecture,
[00:03:13.740]and community and regional planning,
[00:03:16.304]and it is the original University Library.
[00:03:20.240]As architecture librarian, Professor Logan-Peters
[00:03:22.940]works closely with students and faculty.
[00:03:25.743]I was a department chair for a while,
[00:03:27.961]and I found that I never saw students,
[00:03:30.970]and I didn't get to work with faculty directly
[00:03:33.220]on research, and I really missed that,
[00:03:36.660]so I asked to step out of that role and come back here.
[00:03:40.800]I like working with young people
[00:03:42.250]who are pursuing, you know, projects,
[00:03:45.210]and faculty too sometimes have
[00:03:47.990]really interesting research projects
[00:03:50.160]that they need help with.
[00:03:51.893](chiming music)
[00:03:53.170]Up next, lab work, a deep dive into research
[00:03:56.600]and creative activity.
[00:04:00.280]The UNL campus is home to Kay Logan-Peters.
[00:04:03.670]It's just so familiar to me,
[00:04:05.297]plus I was a student here, and I've worked here
[00:04:09.220]for 38 years, I think now.
[00:04:13.442]So I've kind of grown up with it.
[00:04:16.530]Through her research, Professor Logan-Peters
[00:04:18.760]has become an expert on the buildings
[00:04:20.970]that shape university growth over 150 years.
[00:04:25.150]Using words, pictures, a website, even augmented reality,
[00:04:29.225]Dr. Logan Peters tells the story
[00:04:31.489]of the Land Grant University,
[00:04:33.950]The first building, University Hall,
[00:04:36.220]rose up at the edge of a very small town called Lincoln.
[00:04:40.111](inspiring music)
[00:04:47.365]You know, when the university was chartered,
[00:04:49.316]Lincoln probably had a thousand people,
[00:04:51.417]and no public services really,
[00:04:54.880]no electricity, no water, none of that.
[00:04:59.277]None of that was done yet.
[00:05:00.980]In the 80's Lincoln boomed, in the 1880's,
[00:05:03.420]but in the 1870's it was pretty small.
[00:05:06.280]As the new century dawned, the city of Lincoln
[00:05:08.830]and the university expanded.
[00:05:10.890]Even the football program began to flourish.
[00:05:13.570]Before Memorial Stadium, the Corn Huskers
[00:05:15.412]played on Nebraska Field, that ran parallel to 10th street.
[00:05:19.356]You can actually stand in the field's original end zone
[00:05:22.530]next to Brace Laboratory, that was built in 1904.
[00:05:25.770]The field was on the far west of campus,
[00:05:28.040]just south of what is now Memorial Stadium.
[00:05:30.920]The funny thing about Brace is it,
[00:05:33.180]you know, the design of it was altered
[00:05:35.080]because the first football field ran right along 10th street
[00:05:40.217]and Brace was a bigger building and they kind of carved
[00:05:45.110]a notch out of the back of it to make room for the field.
[00:05:49.694](laughs) And this was the early 1900's,
[00:05:53.060]so football was already firmly established and important,
[00:05:57.710]important enough to alter a building.
[00:05:59.643](crowds cheering)
[00:06:02.130]On Nebraska field in 1922,
[00:06:04.133]the Corn Huskers defeated Notre Dame.
[00:06:06.870]16,000 fans watched what the Omaha World-Herald
[00:06:10.350]described as one of the most brilliant
[00:06:12.120]and sensational games recorded.
[00:06:14.980]But it was clear Nebraska football needed a new home.
[00:06:18.634](door creaking)
[00:06:20.260]It's open for self guided tours,
[00:06:21.840]I guess that means you can go.
[00:06:23.610]We walk through a gate leading to the field
[00:06:25.900]at Memorial Stadium.
[00:06:27.503]A Nebraska alumni campaign raised $450,000
[00:06:31.920]from students and other fans to build the original stadium.
[00:06:35.960]When we got really big time in the early 20's,
[00:06:40.461]and other schools were building stadiums.
[00:06:42.666]KU had a new stadium done in Lawrence,
[00:06:45.564]USC was building, you know, the Coliseum,
[00:06:49.059]so they raised the money privately,
[00:06:54.880]and they built it fast, I mean just in a matter of months.
[00:06:58.570]So by 1923 it was mostly done.
[00:07:02.000]We do have pictures in archives of this balcony
[00:07:04.630]kind of held up with wooden frames still around it
[00:07:07.640]and they're still pouring the concrete and stuff,
[00:07:10.070]but the first game was in October
[00:07:14.670]which is pretty good considering they started in April.
[00:07:17.578](hammers pounding)
[00:07:20.300]The new stadium influenced campus in another way.
[00:07:23.620]It was built by a local architecture firm
[00:07:26.120]led by a Nebraska graduate.
[00:07:28.060]That didn't sit well with the Boston firm
[00:07:30.024]originally hired to design the campus.
[00:07:32.772]Chancellor Avery hired this Boston firm
[00:07:36.607]who were pretty well known for campus planning
[00:07:38.801]and they came up with a style,
[00:07:41.040]and it's the red brick and the limestone trim,
[00:07:44.330]the Bedford limestone trim.
[00:07:45.663]Ellery Davis was the architect for the stadium.
[00:07:48.590]He was from here in Lincoln,
[00:07:49.860]and his dad had been a dean.
[00:07:51.910]So the original architects, or the official architects,
[00:07:55.540]didn't like that, so they parted ways with the University.
[00:07:59.478]But then Ellery Davis built all these other buildings,
[00:08:03.080]and he continued to use
[00:08:04.642]the red brick and the Bedford limestone.
[00:08:07.443](construction clanging)
[00:08:10.215](inspiring music)
[00:08:14.258]After World War Two, styles changed
[00:08:16.487]from classic and ornate to sleek and unadorned.
[00:08:20.680]We're kinda like a crazy quilt, or a patchwork quilt.
[00:08:25.210]You can pick a style and we have it,
[00:08:26.773]but we don't really have as much of a theme
[00:08:29.890]as a lot of institutions do, but that's okay.
[00:08:32.923]You know, that's okay,
[00:08:34.290]they were all built in a different decade,
[00:08:36.240]and they look like the decade in which they were built.
[00:08:38.730]And they kind of reflect what was going on at that time.
[00:08:42.354](inspiring music)
[00:08:47.920]Nebraska's East Campus, known early on as The Farm
[00:08:50.710]expanded as well, and developed over time
[00:08:53.640]to include a host of new labs and buildings.
[00:08:56.286]On this campus, history is on display.
[00:08:59.665]Not very many things have been torn down.
[00:09:02.357]The mall, which you know grew slowly over time,
[00:09:06.106]is pretty much intact, except for one building.
[00:09:09.545]The old home-ec building was torn down
[00:09:11.517]and the new one was built, but it's also beautiful.
[00:09:14.680]The landscaping out there is beautiful too.
[00:09:17.040]UNL research from milestones to quirky stories
[00:09:20.385]is outlined in a book Professor Logan-Peters wrote
[00:09:23.730]for Arcadia Publishing's Campus History series.
[00:09:26.551]Her research for the book led to surprises and insight.
[00:09:30.770]Well you know, I think there's like kind of an interesting
[00:09:32.784]theme that I hadn't really thought about
[00:09:36.231]until I started putting the book together,
[00:09:39.158]and that was what it was like to be a woman.
[00:09:44.720]I mean, it was not for the faint hearted.
[00:09:48.537]It was, especially if you were
[00:09:51.032]one of two or three faculty women.
[00:09:55.930]Ellen Smith was the first faculty woman,
[00:09:58.220]and she kinda has the reputation
[00:10:00.020]for being a grouch and a grump,
[00:10:02.070]but no wonder, you know, she had twice as much work
[00:10:05.940]and half the pay her entire career.
[00:10:09.788]And young women students couldn't go anywhere
[00:10:13.960]without an escort, except class.
[00:10:16.452](harrowing music)
[00:10:20.340]Professor Logan-Peters also embraced technology
[00:10:23.420]to share information.
[00:10:24.790]She developed, and continues to expand
[00:10:27.130]an online tour of historic campus buildings.
[00:10:30.148]And she collaborates with Nebraska Educational Television
[00:10:33.470]and other faculty on an augmented reality tour
[00:10:36.153]of University Hall.
[00:10:38.040]The building no longer stands, but you can walk around
[00:10:40.970]University Hall by donning a pair
[00:10:43.160]of virtual reality goggles.
[00:10:44.954](harrowing music)
[00:10:47.520]My role was to help them figure out
[00:10:51.730]what was historically accurate,
[00:10:53.315]and you know, what the brick looked like,
[00:10:56.340]and what the roof looked like,
[00:10:57.646]and the grass, you know, we had a big debate
[00:11:00.270]about what the exterior landscaping looked like.
[00:11:03.980]'Cause they had little trees,
[00:11:05.360]and I said okay, there were no trees. (laughing)
[00:11:08.050]There were no trees.
[00:11:10.060]It would have just been kinda weedy grass.
[00:11:12.541]Now we're about to start the interior,
[00:11:14.760]that's our next effort in that project.
[00:11:21.530]Ready for office hours?
[00:11:22.860]How did Kay Logan-Peters get here?
[00:11:24.948](calming piano music)
[00:11:28.440]Growing up in the city of Ralston, Nebraska,
[00:11:30.460]Professor Logan-Peters devoured books.
[00:11:32.951]Oh, I was a super nerd, I'm sure.
[00:11:36.672]I was a reader, and I was very arty.
[00:11:40.460]Art was always sort of my escape.
[00:11:42.782]I was always making things,
[00:11:45.314]and that was always a big part of how I entertained myself.
[00:11:50.285]And I rode a unicycle.
[00:11:52.456]I wasn't eccentric at all. (laughs)
[00:11:55.450]Professor Logan-Peters majored in English at UNL.
[00:11:58.790]Her interest in architecture
[00:12:00.190]was sparked in a class called Arts Today,
[00:12:02.950]and by a visit to Chicago
[00:12:04.730]where she toured the Robie House,
[00:12:06.490]designed by Frank Lloyd Wright.
[00:12:08.960]After graduating, she took a job at Love Library,
[00:12:11.485]and it eventually led to grad school.
[00:12:14.260]I never really thought I'd be able to come back to Lincoln
[00:12:16.942]and it just worked out, so I applied and got a job,
[00:12:22.240]and came back, and I've kind of worked my way
[00:12:24.290]around the library system since.
[00:12:26.076](ethereal music)
[00:12:29.000]Now it's time for a pop quiz.
[00:12:31.130]Random questions, life hacks and wisdom for all of us.
[00:12:36.088]Do you have a habit
[00:12:37.630]that makes you happier or more productive?
[00:12:39.852]Every single morning
[00:12:41.316]I drink a cup of coffee and do the jumble, the word jumble,
[00:12:46.154]and if I'm really on a roll I do the crossword.
[00:12:48.580]I used to do the crossword every day,
[00:12:50.030]but honestly it takes too long.
[00:12:51.827]And I'm a walker, I like to walk.
[00:12:56.350]No matter how irritated I am, a good long walk,
[00:12:59.482]you know, it's pretty hard to maintain
[00:13:02.080]a righteous indignation
[00:13:04.966]when you're on your third or fourth mile.
[00:13:08.570]You said you like gardening.
[00:13:09.403]I am a gardener, yeah.
[00:13:11.607]Sometimes I hate my garden and sometimes I love my garden.
[00:13:14.900]I think all gardeners are like that.
[00:13:16.870]But I do like plants, I like plants.
[00:13:20.030]I like old buildings, I like plants,
[00:13:21.308]I like books, I like art.
[00:13:23.913]Do you have a life hack you can share,
[00:13:26.010]something that makes life easier?
[00:13:28.000]Well yeah, I was just gonna say
[00:13:29.251]I read everything and I read all the time.
[00:13:32.120]I read every morning when I get up.
[00:13:34.380]I read before I go to sleep.
[00:13:38.969]You know, there's just no end to how much there is to learn
[00:13:43.420]if you read, so I would say just make reading a habit.
[00:13:47.366]And now, graduation day, time for final thoughts.
[00:13:51.156](inspiring music)
[00:13:56.070]The campus has changed a lot since Kay Logan-Peters
[00:13:58.620]was here as a first generation college student.
[00:14:01.320]Do you remember how empty it was?
[00:14:03.091]These big trees were newly planted,
[00:14:06.132]and when I was a freshman,
[00:14:09.370]Love North was under construction.
[00:14:11.236]None of this that you see, this beautiful landscape
[00:14:15.780]with all these different trees was there yet.
[00:14:19.470]Professor Logan-Peters has devoted her career
[00:14:21.899]to preserving the history of campus buildings.
[00:14:24.611]She says it helps us understand how we go here.
[00:14:28.245]And it makes you appreciate the institution,
[00:14:30.583]if you realize just what an uphill struggle it was
[00:14:34.280]in those early years, and just how tiny it was
[00:14:37.340]and how important to the state.
[00:14:39.500]I think that's always been a factor,
[00:14:43.400]just how much people throughout the state
[00:14:46.100]support the university.
[00:14:47.790]The wonders of nature, art, and architecture
[00:14:50.332]are on display across the two campuses
[00:14:53.270]of the University of Nebraska Lincoln.
[00:14:55.164]All you have to do is get out there and take a walk.
[00:15:01.940]That's it for this edition of Faculty 101.
[00:15:04.570]In the show notes, we link to the architecture tour website,
[00:15:07.832]to the book Kay Logan-Peters wrote,
[00:15:10.215]and to more information on the University Hall
[00:15:12.860]Virtual Reality Project.
[00:15:18.160]Faculty 101 is produced
[00:15:19.810]by the University of Nebraska Lincoln.
[00:15:21.943](inspiring music)
[00:15:27.070]So I would ride my unicycle around Ralston
[00:15:29.700]where I grew up, and ride it to the swimming pool
[00:15:32.600]and I'm sure there are probably people back there
[00:15:34.920]who still wonder whatever became of that girl
[00:15:38.330]with the pointy glasses and the unicycle.

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Walking Back in Time: A Campus Architecture Tour

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