University of Alabama in Huntsville Campus History Walking Tour
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Description
A walking tour to explore and explain the history of the University of Alabama in Huntsville
1. Morton Hall
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.
2. UAH M. Louis Salmon Library
Constructed in 1969, the library consolidated The University of Alabama in Huntsville's collection of records and volumes out of their cramped and limited space spread across various campus buildings. The library was expanded several times and in 1996 was dedicated to M. Louis Salmon, a prominent local attorney who supported UAH and the Huntsville community.
3. Wilson Hall
Constructed in 1969, Wilson Hall was first known as the Science and Engineering Building, as it housed the expanding science and engineering departments. On the 14th of May in 1993, it was dedicated to Dr. Harold J. Wilson, one of the university's first full-time African American faculty members. Hired in 1972, Wilson was known for his dedication to education and historic contributions as a faculty member. It was also the site of a historic superconductivity discovery in 1987.
4. Superconductivity Historic Marker
The historic marker located outside of Wilson Hall details the 1987 creation of a superconductor that retained its properties over the 77° Kelvin threshold, where cooling becomes more efficient and, in many cases, cheaper. The material was discovered under Dr. Wu of The University of Alabama in Huntsville's guidance, by graduate students, and verified by Dr. Chu of the University of Houston. It is one of many scientific discoveries over the years made on the UAH campus, by UAH students, staff, and faculty. This breakthrough was achieved at a laboratory in what is now called Wilson Hall, then known as the Science and Engineering building.
5. Union Grove Gallery
Built circa 1830, this was originally a chapel located in Hazel Green, Alabama. This makes it one of the oldest religious structures in Madison County. The chapel was donated to UAH in 1973 by the Bendall family, after which it was carefully moved to UAH and restored by UAH and Huntsville volunteers. Since its 1976 opening, it has been used as an art gallery.
6. Marion Beirne Spragins Hall
Spragins was constructed in 1978 for the use of UAH's sporting and athletics programs. Not long after construction, the building was dedicated to Marion Beirne Spragins, a noted leader at UAH and a Huntsville civic leader. Marion Beirne Spragins contributed to the expansion of UAH and left a significant amount of land in his will for UAH's use. Today, the hall still provides UAH's sporting and fitness programs with a place to practice and compete.
7. Roberts Hall
Originally known as the Humanities Building, this building was constructed in the early 1970s and first used for classes in 1972. In 1988, the building was dedicated to history professor Dr. Frances C. Roberts for her dedication to historic preservation and research in Huntsville.
8. Conference Training Center
Opened in 1984, the Conference Training Center on The University of Alabama in Huntsville campus, formerly known as the University Center was intended as a social building to replace the former Student Union Building. This new, larger building would house university and community events. The building and its functions have changed over the years. Today, it's a mixed-use facility with collaborative spaces and the Charger Café, which is a popular on-campus dining location.
9. Nursing Building
Originally constructed in 1976, and renovated and expanded in 2014, the Nursing Building is home to The University of Alabama in Huntsville's College of Nursing. The nursing program existed prior to the building's construction, but the dedicated building space coincided with the nursing programs' increasing competitive standing in the field. Within the building are classrooms, medical equipment, and appropriate facilities to provide all necessary services for the College of Nursing.
10. Bevill Center
Originally constructed in 1988, the Bevill Center held the training headquarters of the Army Corps of Engineer, Division of Continuing Education, and hotel and restaurant facilities ran by the Marriott Corporation. The building hosted conferences and conventions. In 2020, the building was converted into a dormitory.
11. Business Administration Building
When first opened in 1990, the Business Administration Building was known as the Administrative Science Building. It served as a home for the The College of Administrative Science providing classrooms, computer laboratories, lecture space, an auditorium, and other academic spaces for the growing college.
12. Von Braun Research Hall
Originally known as the Research Institute, this building was constructed for the University of Alabama in Huntsville's growing research activities, especially in aerospace and related disciplines. The establishment of a research program at UAH was a collaborative effort and included many prominent figures in Huntsville's burgeoning aerospace industry such as Dr. Wernher von Braun. The building was dedicated in his name in 2000. Today, the research hall holds offices, laboratories, and other research spaces, and carries on the research that began decades ago.
13. Engineering Building
Under construction from 1983 to 1984, the Engineering Building was made for the growing number of engineering students. The building still houses engineering classrooms, offices, and academic spaces.
14. Madison Hall
Madison Hall was built in 1966 as the Graduate Studies Building. The building was demolished in 2015 and a new Student Services Building now stands in that location.
15. Optics Building
The Optics Building was constructed in the late 1980s and dedicated in 1992. Representative Tom Bevill of Alabama's 4th congressional district helped secure the funding for this research facility, focusing on optics research.
16. Materials Science Building
Planned in the late 1980s and constructed in the early 1990s, the Materials Science Building was built alongside the Optics Building and the Administrative Science Building to service the growing UAH community. This building provided a home for specialized sciences and the specialized equipment used in those fields. The construction of the building was funded from an increase in tuition and the opening was initially delayed, but opened in 1992.
17. UAH Disc Golf Course
The 18 hole disc golf course on the University of Alabama in Huntsville campus was proposed by the Frisbee Club in 1979. The Club set up a disc golf course for Springfest 1980, and it was so well received that they established a permanent course.
18. WLRH Radio Station
WLRH, with a call sign originally meaning "Library Radio of Huntsville" is a public radio station broadcasting from Huntsville, Alabama. It was originally funded by and treated as part of the public library when it was instituted in 1972 and positioned in the old Times Building in downtown Huntsville. Although there is no formal relationship between WLRH and the University of Alabama in Huntsville, the radio station is located on the UAH campus and has been since 1988. It was moved from its original location in downtown Huntsville, due to financial and building issues.
19. Shelby Center
Originally constructed in 2007, the Shelby Center for Science and Technology was named for Senator Richard Shelby and his wife shortly after opening. Senator Richard Shelby continues to represent Alabama and advocates for the advancement of research and funding at the University of Alabama in Huntsville. The dedication took place in October of 2007. That year, the building opened for classes in various science departments including mathematics, biology, physics, and chemistry. To this day, it is still home to those scientific departments, providing all the resources, classrooms, and faculty and staff offices that those programs require.
20. Robert "Bud" Cramer Research Hall
Robert "Bud" Cramer is a former Congressman from the state of Alabama. Belonging to the Democratic party, he represented Alabama's 5th District from 1991 to 2009. In this position, he dedicated the NS Science and Technology Center at the site of the "Computer Science Building", which would eventually be part of the Research Hall. For this reason, the research hall was dedicated in his name in 2004. The building was described as containing "offices for Atmospheric Science, research laboratories, meeting rooms, and the Global Hydrology Resource Center computer laboratory to support the extensive ongoing research between NASA, UAH, and the Universities Space Research Association."[1]
21. Olin B. King Technology Hall
Olin B. King Technology Hall is located on the west side of Sparkman Drive and currently holds offices related to the College of Engineering as well as the Computer Science department. It is first mentioned in the 1998-1999 course catalogs as a building that "contains offices, classrooms, specially equipped distance learning classrooms, a 119 fixed seating seminar room, computer classrooms and laboratories, and instructional and research laboratories for several of the departments in the College of Engineering as well as the Computer Science Department"[1] in addition to housing "the Center for Space Plasma and Aeronomic Research (CSPAR), the Propulsion Research Center, and the Information Technology & Systems Laboratory"[1], having been acquired in 1998 according to the 1998-1999 factbook.
22. Shelbie King Hall
Shelbie King Hall was dedicated in 2004 to Shelbie King, wife of Olin B. King and a notable supporter of The University of Alabama in Huntsville and the larger Huntsville community. Its namesake, Shelbie King and her husband worked hard to support UAH for many years, helping to secure funding as well as acting as trustees themselves. Their dedication to UAH's advancement in the community resulted in the donation of buildings to the campus including Olin B. King Tech Hall, and of course, Shelbie King Hall. The building serves as an administrative building on the UAH campus, housing multiple administrative departments.
