Sign in or 
- EasyEdit
- Edit tags
-
(what's this?What are these tools?
People just like you can add or edit the content on this site. If you want to try editing, but aren't ready to add to this site, try our demo area.
Read more about editing pages at Wetpaint Central.
) - Report page
Share this
Old Main burns down
"Old Main, the first building constructed at UW-Whitewater, was once the center of campus life and known as they symbol of the university. You could see the enormous building from the outskirts of town, and the lighted belltower could be seen from miles away. (...) To this day, the silhouette of Old Main's towers is featured on UW-Whitewater's seal. The building was 102 years old when three of its four wings were destroyed by fire on February 7, 1970."
Excerpt from May 2, 2007 edition of the Royal Purple; article by Tabitha Gullickson.
This photo of Old Main burning was taken by Fran Achen.
Contributed by Chap Achen.
Remembrances:
Bob Hepfinger, '70: The night of the fire, I watched it from my apartment building located next to the current baseball field. I knew that beyond the loss of the building were many, many thousands of hours of work in the office files that turned to ashes, but much more importantly, hundreds of pieces of artwork were also lost. The Art Department had to be recreated from a blank canvas, as it were. It's a great tribute to the school that the department has become what it is today.
It was quite a personal thing. My Mother, Mary Weiser, was the secretary to the Department Chair.
Anonymous: My late wife and I were leaving the Country Squire, after a delicious meal, just west of Whitewater on Hy 12, when we observed the red sky over the city. So, like most curious folks we hopped into our car and drove toward the city wondering what on earth could be burning... We soon discovered it was Old Main... the building where I had held my first class that I taught at the University: C-106, a cavernous room. Not the easiest place to lecture for my first teaching experience..Psychology 101. So, we parked and found a place to stand in front of the Pizza place across the street. I remember there were several male students standing on the roof, yelling, "Burn Baby Burn." I felt the urge to climb up and shut them up. One of my precious memories was going up in smoke. Those were difficult times indeed.
After Old Main burned down, Beverly Ferguson wrote a letter to the editor at the Whitewater Register; it was published on February 19, 1970.
Contributed by Evelyn Schneider: Evelyn's husband, Nathan Schneider, was the postmaster and also a member of the Volunteer Fire Department. They were playing cards at a friend's house on the corner of Whiton and Highland when the call came; Nathan took off for the fire and didn't come home until 35 hours later.
Contributed by Donald Phillips: I was on duty with the 3 to 11 shift at the power plant. We took the phone calls for the university in the off hours. Someone called, I think it was a woman's voice, and said "I think there's going to be a fire at Old Main" and she hung up. So I called security. Gene Robbins come down on security, and he went up to Old Main to look, and there were fires in two places already. It was made of old wood and had big air chambers that ran from the basement, which formed chimneys of sorts. That made the perfect draft.
Contributed by Chap Achen: When Dad called and said that Old Main burned down, I
really felt a loss for Whitewater. I was in the Marine Corps back
then and I had had many great memories of Old Main. As a kid, we use
to climb all over old main, especially the fire escapes, even though
we were not supposed to be up there. That place was a great
adventure for most of us, Jim Coburn, Dave Bushman, Harry
Leffingwell, we all thought of that place as part of our playground.
Behind Old main, we used to go sledding or get lost in the woods, and
hang out in an old white pine tree that had a great big limb that we
could all sit on. It was a great place to grow up.
Anonymous: I was older the next time I saw it come—the flames licking against the age old building into the blackness of night—we had moved and lived at a higher point in town. The clouds of smoke meant only one thing—Old Main was on fire. Still really only a child I didn’t understand all the accusations and politics of the times—I just new a much loved landmark was fighting to live and losing the battle. It brought sadness along with the ruin. When I come back home now—I look toward the campus where stands a wing of the original building—so many years have passed—but there remains the memory of one night when she cried out against the night—billowing smoke as she breathed her last.
Contributed by Beverly Ferguson: I wasn't in college then but was living at Whitewater Lake, and I remember writing a letter to the Editor of the Whitewater Register to let them know how sad I was that anyone could do something like that.
Contributed by Tom Barnes: Of course, when Old Main burned I was in bed, in my footie pj's, because I probably had grade school the next day!
|
KayAnnie |
Latest page update: made by KayAnnie
, Jun 22 2007, 4:54 PM EDT
(about this update
About This Update
Edited by KayAnnie
view changes - complete history) |
|
More Info: links to this page
|
| Started By | Thread Subject | Replies | Last Post | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PINKBUG | Old Main burning Down | 0 | Jan 17 2008, 8:39 PM EST by PINKBUG | ||
|
Thread started: Jan 17 2008, 8:39 PM EST
Watch
I remember the night Old Main burned down....I know it's something that is never erased from your memory if you saw it. We lived one block away on Cottage Street (my mother still lives there). I was there as so many people made a long line.....things were grabbed out of the other end of Old Main to try and save whatever could be. It was a line of wonderful people...handing books and whatever else they could...and they would be passed along the line from one person to another....I'm not sure where the things ended up....I've never seen anything else burn down like that....and I do hope I never will.....I went downtown to my sister's apartment later that night...still seeing the bright,orange/red/flaming sky.....the smoke and smell from the fire hung on for a long time......what a very sad night for Whitewater....
|
||||
| Anonymous | Architectural Drawings | 1 | Jan 17 2008, 8:16 PM EST by PINKBUG | ||
|
|
Thread started: Jan 12 2008, 1:06 PM EST
Watch
Hey, does anyone know if the original plans or a set of measured drawings exist of Old Main? I think it'd be really interesting to get a hold of a floor plan drawing or a cross section of the building. I hope they still exist, cuz I've always thought it would be cool to do a complete reconstruction of Old Main at some point when I'm a billionaire. (I can always dream). Even if I could just see a floor plan of what it looked I'd be happy because I never got a chance to go inside the building (born 17 years too late). It'd also be really cool to construct a scale model of it... ...donate it to the library...
|
||||
| Anonymous | Old Main fire | 0 | Nov 13 2007, 11:54 AM EST by Anonymous | ||
|
|
Thread started: Nov 13 2007, 11:54 AM EST
Watch
I was at Whitewater High School at the annual Mardi Gras dance the night of the fire. We could see the glow in the sky from the high school windows. We were all in costumes at the dance. The father of one of my friends picked her up after the dance and insisted on stopping to look at the fire. She felt very self-conscious standing in the crowd wearing her costume. My dad was a Biology professor at the Univ and had had an office in Old Main when he first started working there in 1960. It was a big treat for me and my brother to visit his office in Old Main when we were in 1st and 2nd grade. A few years later the Biology dept moved to Upham Hall. The day after the fire we visited the campus and looked at the smoldering ruins of Old Main. We felt very sad to see the destruction of this magnificent old building. Did they determine it was arson? This was during the early '70's when building were being burned and bombed on college campuses by 'radicals.'
|
||||
Showing 3 of 8 threads for this page
- view all
|
S4300328.JPG (JPEG Image - 22k)
posted by terriem88 Apr 18 2007, 2:40 PM EDT
This attachment has no description.
|
