University of Utah Circle
Encyclopedia
The University of Utah Circle, also known as Presidents Circle, is located on the campus of the University of Utah
in Salt Lake City
, Utah
. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places
in 1978 as a historic district
.
In 1900 the University of Utah moved to the current east-bench campus on land that used to belong to Fort Douglas
. The four original buildings, which are currently known as the John Widtsoe Building, the LeRoy Cowles Building, the Alfred Emery Building, and the James Talmage Building were built on what is now University of Utah circle.
s, which are all named after former University of Utah Presidents
and located along University Circle:
University of Utah
The University of Utah, also known as the U or the U of U, is a public, coeducational research university in Salt Lake City, Utah, United States. The university was established in 1850 as the University of Deseret by the General Assembly of the provisional State of Deseret, making it Utah's oldest...
in Salt Lake City
Salt Lake City, Utah
Salt Lake City is the capital and the most populous city of the U.S. state of Utah. The name of the city is often shortened to Salt Lake or SLC. With a population of 186,440 as of the 2010 Census, the city lies in the Salt Lake City metropolitan area, which has a total population of 1,124,197...
, Utah
Utah
Utah is a state in the Western United States. It was the 45th state to join the Union, on January 4, 1896. Approximately 80% of Utah's 2,763,885 people live along the Wasatch Front, centering on Salt Lake City. This leaves vast expanses of the state nearly uninhabited, making the population the...
. It was listed on 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...
in 1978 as a historic district
Historic district (United States)
In the United States, a historic district is a group of buildings, properties, or sites that have been designated by one of several entities on different levels as historically or architecturally significant. Buildings, structures, objects and sites within a historic district are normally divided...
.
History
Fort Douglas, Utah
Camp Douglas was established in October 1862 as a small military garrison about three miles east of Salt Lake City, Utah, for the purpose of protecting the overland mail route and telegraph lines along the Central Overland Route. In 1878, the post was renamed Fort Douglas. The fort was officially...
. The four original buildings, which are currently known as the John Widtsoe Building, the LeRoy Cowles Building, the Alfred Emery Building, and the James Talmage Building were built on what is now University of Utah circle.
Buildings
The district is composed of the following eight buildingBuilding
In architecture, construction, engineering, real estate development and technology the word building may refer to one of the following:...
s, which are all named after former University of Utah Presidents
University of Utah Presidents
The University of Utah Presidents includes all sixteen men who served as president of the University of Utah or its predecessor the University of Deseret, which was founded in 1850 just a few years after the Mormon Pioneers arrived in the Salt Lake Valley....
and located along University Circle:
- Alfred Emery Building (1901) - Designed by Richard Kletting and named after former university president Alfred C. Emery in 1980. It was originally built to house the normal schoolNormal schoolA normal school is a school created to train high school graduates to be teachers. Its purpose is to establish teaching standards or norms, hence its name...
.
- John Widtsoe Building (1901) - Designed by Richard Kletting and named after former university president John A. WidtsoeJohn A. WidtsoeJohn Andreas Widtsoe was a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from 1921 until his death. Widtsoe was also a noted author, scientist, and academician.-Early life:...
.
- LeRoy Cowles Building (1901) - Designed by Richard Kletting and named after former university president LeRoy E. Cowles in 1980. It was originally constructed to house the library. It currently houses the mathematicsMathematicsMathematics is the study of quantity, space, structure, and change. Mathematicians seek out patterns and formulate new conjectures. Mathematicians resolve the truth or falsity of conjectures by mathematical proofs, which are arguments sufficient to convince other mathematicians of their validity...
department at the university.
- James Talmage Building (1902) - Designed by Richard Kletting and named after former professorProfessorA professor is a scholarly teacher; the precise meaning of the term varies by country. Literally, professor derives from Latin as a "person who professes" being usually an expert in arts or sciences; a teacher of high rank...
and university president James E. TalmageJames E. TalmageJames Edward Talmage born in Hungerford, Berkshire, England, was a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from 1911 until his death in 1933....
in 1976. It was originally constructed as a museumMuseumA museum is an institution that cares for a collection of artifacts and other objects of scientific, artistic, cultural, or historical importance and makes them available for public viewing through exhibits that may be permanent or temporary. Most large museums are located in major cities...
.
- Park Building (1914) - Designed by the architectural firm of Cannon, Fetzer, Hansen. Originally named the "Central Building", it was renamed the "Park Building" in 1919 after former university president John R. ParkJohn R. ParkJohn Rockey Park was a prominent educator in the Territory and State of Utah in the late 19th century, and in many ways was the intellectual father of the University of Utah....
. It currently houses the office of the president as well as other university administrators.
- Kingsbury HallKingsbury HallKingsbury Hall is a center for the performing arts located on the University of Utah campus in Salt Lake City, Utah.-History:Kingsbury Hall was built in 1930. It was named after Joseph T. Kingsbury, former president of the University. Many of Utah's performing arts organizations started in...
(1930) - Designed by Anderson & Young and named after Joseph T. Kingsbury, former president of the University. Many of Utah's performing arts organizations started in Kingsbury Hall including Ballet WestBallet WestBallet West, Salt Lake City, Utah was founded in 1963 by Glenn Walker Wallace, who served as its first president. It was called the Utah Civic Ballet company. Willam F...
and Utah Opera.
- David P. Gardner Hall (1931) - Designed by Ashton and Evans. In 1980 it was named after former university president David P. GardnerDavid P. GardnerDavid Pierpont Gardner was the 17th president of the University of California and was also the president of the University of Utah.-Biography:...
. It was originally constructed to be the union building.
- George Thomas Building (1935) - Designed by Ashton and Evans and named after former university president George Thomas. It was originally built as the George Thomas Library. In 1968 when the library moved and became the J. Willard Marriott LibraryJ. Willard Marriott LibraryJ. Willard Marriott Library is the library of the University of Utah in Salt Lake City, Utah. It was named for J. Willard Marriott, the founder of Marriott International. The library building is over and houses over 3 million volumes. The University of Utah Press is a division of the Marriott...
the Thomas building became the home of the Utah Museum of Natural HistoryUtah Museum of Natural HistoryThe Natural History Museum of Utah is a museum located at the Rio Tinto Center on the campus of the University of Utah in Salt Lake City, Utah, United States. The museum shows exhibits of natural history subjects, specifically about Utah's natural history...
.