KU's Hidden Treasures: Name That Building

But are those ribbons KU blue?

It’s all in the details. Can you identify KU’s buildings from just an architectural element? Study the photo, make your guess, then click on the question below each image to see if you’re right.

Carved swags of greenery and ribbons adorn a classical shield in this decorative plaque on Lippincott Hall. Built in a Greco-Roman style that incorporates four Ionic columns, it opened in 1905 as the original Green Hall, named for the first law dean, James Woods Green. It was renamed for the fourth chancellor, Joshua Lippincott, in 1979, after a larger law building opened west of 15th Street and Naismith Drive. Next »

Vibrant colors in symmetrical patterns enliven the coffered ceiling of the Memorial Room of the Memorial Carillon and Campanile, honoring KU faculty and students who died in World War II. Above this level is a room containing the rehearsal and performance claviers, or keyboards, used by the university carilloneur, student recitalists or guest artists. Another level up are six tiers containing the carillon’s 53 bells. Next »

The ornamentation on Dyche Hall — home of the Natural History Museum — includes realistic and fanciful birds, snakes, bats, monkeys and other creatures on friezes, arches and, as here, Corinthian columns. All were carved by master mason Joseph Robaldo Frazee and his son Vitruvius Frazee to adorn the Venetian Romanesque building, which opened in 1902. Next »

St. George slaying the dragon, the subject of this large limestone bas-relief over the entrance of the original student hospital, has long been a symbol for the fight against disease. The bas-relief was designed by Marjorie Whitney, later chair of the design department, as the central image for Watkins Memorial Hospital, which opened in 1932. The hospital, now Twente Hall, was the gift of philanthropist Elizabeth M. Watkins in memory of her husband, Lawrence banker Jabez B. Watkins. Next »

Sculptor and master mason Joseph Robaldo Frazee and his son Vitruvius Frazee carved this grotesque, one of 12 that adorned Dyche Hall when it opened in 1902. Although they are often called “gargoyles,” these are defined as “grotesques” because they do not have the functional drainpipe for rain like gargoyles on medieval cathedrals, for instance. Three of them have similar shields on their chests, bearing the words “Rock Chalk,” “Jayhawk,” and “KU.” Next »

Collegiate Gothic is the architectural style of Watson Library, opened in 1924. It is distinguished by such classical elements as tracery in the arched windows, pilasters, quatrefoils and carved figures, including this jester. The limestone building is named for Carrie Watson, chief librarian from 1887 to 1921, and has had five major additions. Next »

Sculptor Bernard “Poco” Frazier, who founded the KU sculpture program, created the bronze doors for the north and south entrances of the Memorial Campanile. The images on the south entrance’s Doors of Memory, meant to evoke the emotions of war, include this one of a man and woman, identified as Courage. Others include Silence, Sorrow, and Achievement. The north Doors of Kansas represent historical figures such as Plainsman and Pioneer and ideals such as Equality and Education. Next »

The soft red sandstone of Spooner Hall has deteriorated since KU’s oldest surviving building opened in 1894, but the symbolism of the owl carved into a niche on the roof peak remains clear: “Whoso findeth wisdom findeth life,” as the motto engraved above the front arches puts it. The main floor of the hall has been remodeled as a commons for symposia in science, arts, and the humanities. Next »

The richly colored stained glass designed by former dean of fine arts Peter G. Thompson was just one facet of the Bales Organ Recital Hall that was specially constructed to accommodate the acoustical requirements of the hall’s Wolff Opus 40 organ. Polly Roth Bales and her late husband, Dane Bales, and the Hansen Foundation were the primary donors for the hall, which has 72-foot ceilings and walls 2 feet thick. It adjoins the Lied Center of Kansas. Next »

Four plaques with turquoise centerpieces — two round, two shield-shaped — adorn the front of Strong Hall, above the pilasters and in the frieze at the main door. The administration building at the heart of the main campus, designed in the Classical Revival style and faced with honey-colored terra cotta, was occupied in three stages: the east wing in late 1911-early 1912, the west wing in 1918, and the central structure in January 1924. Money for the project was only gradually approved by the legislature, and the original grandiose design — including a rotunda and pillars — was radically pruned. Back to start »