The University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Science Hall celebrated its 125th anniversary with a series of events Wednesday, including a haunted tour and a public lecture about the building’s history.
The 125th anniversary marks the year the building was re-opened to students and faculty after it burned down in 1884. Though construction on a new Science Hall was completed in 1887, people did not move in and start using it again until January 1888.
At the lecture, University Archives Director David Null described some of the various rumors that exist about the building, including popular ghost stories.
Null said rumors about the building started because of the building’s general appearance and because students used cadavers in the building during the 1950s for dissections.
However, Null said though many rumors circulate about the building being haunted, there is not much evidence to prove it.
Although many people believe Frank Lloyd Wright was involved with the planning or building of Science Hall, Null also clarified Wright was only a student in the building.
Null said though there have been various attempts to renovate or demolish the building over the years, it has remained largely the same since it was re-opened in 1888.
Dr. Morgan Robertson, an assistant professor in the Department of Geography explained although there are currently no concrete plans for refurbishing Science Hall, the night’s events were an important base for bringing attention to its rich history.
“We looked uphill at [the Education Building] and saw what they did with that and we kind of got envious,” Robertson said. “We want to do something like that ideally, to start that conversation.”
