The University of Utah Circle, also known as Presidents Circle, is located on the campus of the

University of Utah The University of Utah (U of U, UofU, or simply The U) is a public research university in Salt Lake City, Utah. It is the flagship institution of the Utah System of Higher Education. The university was established in 1850 as the University of De ...

Salt Lake City Salt Lake City (often shortened to Salt Lake and abbreviated as SLC) is the capital and most populous city of Utah, United States. It is the seat of Salt Lake County, the most populous county in Utah. With a population of 200,133 in 2020, th ...

Utah Utah ( , ) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. Utah is a landlocked U.S. state bordered to its east by Colorado, to its northeast by Wyoming, to its north by Idaho, to its south by Arizona, and to it ...

, United States. It was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...

in 1978 as a historic district.

History

In 1900 the University of Utah moved to the current east-bench campus on land that used to belong to

Fort Douglas Camp Douglas was established in October 1862, during the American Civil War, as a small military garrison about three miles east of Salt Lake City, Utah, to protect the overland mail route and telegraph lines along the Central Overland Route. I ...

. 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

building A building, or edifice, is an enclosed structure with a roof and walls standing more or less permanently in one place, such as a house or factory (although there's also portable buildings). Buildings come in a variety of sizes, shapes, and fu ...

s, which are all named after former University of Utah Presidents and located along University Circle: * Alfred Emery Building (1901) - Designed by

Richard K.A. Kletting Richard Karl August Kletting (July 1, 1858 – September 25, 1943) was an influential architect in Utah. He designed many well-known buildings, including the Utah State Capitol, the Enos Wall Mansion (which now houses the Thomas S. Monson Center), ...

and named after former university president Alfred C. Emery in 1980. It was originally built to house the

normal school A normal school or normal college is an institution created to train teachers by educating them in the norms of pedagogy and curriculum. In the 19th century in the United States, instruction in normal schools was at the high school level, turni ...

. * John Widtsoe Building (1901) - Designed by Richard K.A. Kletting and named after former university president John A. Widtsoe. * LeRoy Cowles Building (1901) - Designed by Richard K.A. Kletting and named after former university president LeRoy E. Cowles in 1980. It was originally constructed to house the library. It currently houses the mathematics department at the university. "Extended Vision", a series of etched and screenprinted plates depicting math theories created by artist Anna Campbell Bliss , were installed in the building's lobby between 2001 and 2003. * James Talmage Building (1902) - Designed by Richard K.A. Kletting and named after the former professor and university president James E. Talmage in 1976. It was originally constructed as a museum. * Park Building (1914) - Designed by the architectural firm of

Cannon A cannon is a large- caliber gun classified as a type of artillery, which usually launches a projectile using explosive chemical propellant. Gunpowder ("black powder") was the primary propellant before the invention of smokeless powder ...

, Fetzer, Hansen. Originally named the "Central Building", it was renamed the "Park Building" in 1919 after former university president John R. Park . It currently houses the office of the president and other university administrators. *

Kingsbury Hall Kingsbury Hall is a center for the performing arts located on the University of Utah campus in Salt Lake City, Utah. History Kingsbury Hall was designed by Edward O. Anderson and Lorenzo Snow Young and built in 1930. It was named after Joseph ...

(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 West Ballet West is an American ballet company based in Salt Lake City, Utah. It was founded in 1963 as the Utah Civic Ballet by Willam F. Christensen, the company's first artistic director, and Glenn Walker Wallace, who served as its first president. ...

and

Utah Opera The Utah Opera is an American opera company that has been merged with Utah Symphony since July 2002, with a combined audience of more than 150,000 annually. History In 1978, the Utah Opera company presented its first production of Puccini's '' ...

. * David P. Gardner Hall (1931) - Designed by Ashton & Evans. In 1980 it was named after former university president

David P. Gardner David Pierpont Gardner (born March 24, 1933) was the 15th president of the University of California and was also the president of the University of Utah. Biography Gardner was born in Berkeley, California, to Reed S. Gardner and Margaret Pierpont ...

. It was originally constructed to be the union building. Today it houses the school of music. A 1997 renovation added several areas to the building, including a concert hall named after Gardner's wife, Libby. * George Thomas Building (1935) - Designed by Ashton & 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 Library the building became the home of the Utah Museum of Natural History. In 2011 the "Utah Museum of Natural History" moved to a new building and changed its name to "

Natural History Museum of Utah The Natural History Museum of Utah (NHMU) is a museum located in Salt Lake City, Utah, United States. The museum shows exhibits of natural history subjects, with an emphasis on Utah and the Intermountain West. The mission of the museum is to il ...

". Since 2016, a program of works has been transforming the George Thomas Building in order to receive the new "Gary and Ann Crocker Science Center":University of Utah, official website, News,
University of Utah College of Science breaks ground on Crocker Science Center
, March 31, 2016.

Gallery

File:Original U of U library.jpg, The LeRoy Cowles Building, 1905 File:LeRoy Cowles Building UofU Nov 2010.jpg, LeRoy Cowles Building, November 2010 File:Kingsbury Hall.jpg,

, December 2005 File:Gardner Hall UofU Nov 2010.jpg, Gardner Hall, November 2010 File:Utah Museum of Natural History.jpeg, Thomas Building, August 2008 File:The Park Building at the University of Utah.jpg, Park Building, December 2009

References

External links

University of Utah historic buildings
{{Registered Historic Places University and college buildings completed in 1935 Buildings and structures in Salt Lake City Historic districts on the National Register of Historic Places in Utah Buildings and structures at the University of Utah National Register of Historic Places in Salt Lake City University and college buildings on the National Register of Historic Places in Utah 1935 establishments in Utah

History

Buildings

Gallery

See also

References

External links