Morton Hall
Introduction
Text-to-speech Audio
Built in 1960, Morton Hall was the first building on The University of Alabama in Huntsville (UAH) campus. Today it is home to classrooms, computer labs, and offices. Morton Hall was remodeled and expanded in 2020. A courtyard between Morton Hall and the Frank Franz Residence Hall provides a space for outdoor recreation.
Images
Refurbished Morton Hall along with new extension from across the quad.
Morton Hall
Morton Hall, University of Alabama, Huntsville Campus
Dave Mack McGlathery entering Morton Hall at the University of Alabama in Huntsville, on the day he enrolled as the first African American student at the school.
View of Morton Hall
Students talk on the front steps of Morton Hall
Students socializing on the front steps of Morton Hall
UAH students gather on the front steps of Morton Hal
Campus scene outside of Morton Hall
Students walk to class near Morton Hall
View of Morton Hall with a snowman in the foreground
Sketches of Proposed UAH Woods Development
Backstory and Context
Text-to-speech Audio
Designed by architect W.R. Dickson of Huntsville, Morton Hall was constructed by Perusini Construction of Birmingham in 1960 for a total cost of $728,142.43. The two-story building housed "all faculty, administrative, and student government offices, thirty-one classrooms, five laboratories, the library, a book store, and a snack bar."[1] The building was named after John R. Morton, the first acting director of Huntsville Campus of the University of Alabama.
In 1963, Dave McGlathery walked into Morton Hall, the first African American student at the University. McGlathery held a mathematics degree and was working for NASA, but pursued a second undergraduate degree in engineering. Two days after the first African American students enrolled at the Tuscaloosa branch of the school in 1963, McGlathery left his home, which was protected by the Alabama National Guard, to make an attempt to register for engineering classes. Accompanied by state troopers, McGlathery entered Morton Hall, thereby being accepted into the University of Alabama-Huntsville Center.
UAH continued to grow and thus expanded beyond the original Morton Hall, and Morton was itself expanded in 1977. This expansion was created by Dickson and Associates of Huntsville and constructed by Word & Boggus Inc. of Guntersville. The total cost of the expansion was $624,000.00, funded by an Alabama state bond issue. The addition included "a lecture auditorium of 132 seats, three seminar/conference rooms, a faculty lounge, two student lounges, thirty-four additional offices, two new labs, and an elevator."[2] Following the addition, the hall then housed academic offices, and the humanities and behavioral sciences.
Morton Hall was again expanded and renovated in 2020.
Sources
Ferguson, James E. The University of Alabama in Huntsville - A History. The University of Alabama in Huntsville, 1975.
Hurley, Liz. Dave McGlathery; First to Integrate the University of Alabama in Huntsville, WAFF 48. February 23rd 2021. Accessed June 1st 2022. https://www.waff.com/2021/02/23/dave-mcglathery-first-integrate-university-alabama-huntsville/.
[1] [2] “Morton Hall Open House Friday, February 11, 1977, 3:00-5:00 P.M.,” Box 10, Folder 82, Philip Mason Collection, The UAH Archives and Special Collections
The University of Alabama in Huntsville. "Remodeling Yet." Univala (Huntsville) February 23rd 1966. 1 ed, 1 sec.4.
The University of Alabama in Huntsville. Morton Hall, UAH Events. Accessed June 1st 2022. https://www.uah.edu/events/venues/detail/30/1/morton-hall.
Michael Mercier | UAH
“Morton Hall,” The UAH Archives and Special Collections, accessed July 5, 2022, http://libarchstor2.uah.edu/digitalcollections/items/show/5389.
“Morton Hall, University of Alabama, Huntsville Campus,” The UAH Archives and Special Collections, accessed July 5, 2022, http://libarchstor2.uah.edu/digitalcollections/items/show/5190.
Alabama Department of Archives and History, "Dave Mack McGlathery entering Morton Hall at the University of Alabama in Huntsville, on the day he enrolled as the first African American student at the school.," Alabama Department of Archives and History, accessed June 1, 2022, https://digital.archives.alabama.gov/digital/collection/photo/id/32706/rec/5.
University of Alabama in Huntsville, “View of Morton Hall.,” The UAH Archives and Special Collections, accessed June 1, 2022, http://libarchstor2.uah.edu/digitalcollections/items/show/766.
University of Alabama in Huntsville, “Students talk on the front steps of Morton Hall.,” The UAH Archives and Special Collections, accessed June 1, 2022, http://libarchstor2.uah.edu/digitalcollections/items/show/865.
University of Alabama in Huntsville, “Students socializing on the front steps of Morton Hall.,” The UAH Archives and Special Collections, accessed June 1, 2022, http://libarchstor2.uah.edu/digitalcollections/items/show/685.
University of Alabama in Huntsville, “UAH students gather on the front steps of Morton Hall.,” The UAH Archives and Special Collections, accessed June 1, 2022, http://libarchstor2.uah.edu/digitalcollections/items/show/829.
University of Alabama in Huntsville, “Campus scene outside of Morton Hall.,” The UAH Archives and Special Collections, accessed June 1, 2022, http://libarchstor2.uah.edu/digitalcollections/items/show/864.
University of Alabama in Huntsville, “Students walk to class near Morton Hall.,” The UAH Archives and Special Collections, accessed June 1, 2022, http://libarchstor2.uah.edu/digitalcollections/items/show/831.
University of Alabama in Huntsville, “View of Morton Hall with a snowman in the foreground.,” The UAH Archives and Special Collections, accessed June 1, 2022, http://libarchstor2.uah.edu/digitalcollections/items/show/627.
Jones, Harvie P. “Sketches of Proposed UAH Woods Development,” The UAH Archives and Special Collections, accessed August 3, 2022