June 2025.
Northern Illinois University is the nearest major university to my hometown outside of Chicago. I knew many people who went there, including someone from high school who played wide receiver on their football team, but I had never visited campus. I was in DeKalb in June, since it was more interesting than Sycamore (which I did visit after), and figured I’d stop to see some campus landmarks. We’ll start with Altgeld Hall, which is the oldest building on campus.
Altgeld Hall
A 1947 photo of Altgeld Hall. (DeKalb County History Center)
Altgeld Hall is one of several of “Altgeld’s castles,” which are Victorian-era collegiate architecture across Illinois’ major universities. John Altgeld was the governor of Illinois from 1893-1897, and he believed that it was high time for architecture to be both more beautiful and more functional. His proffered style was “Tudor-Gothic,” of which all but one of these buildings employ. All but two were named after him, and many are the oldest buildings on their respective campuses. I’ll include a brief rundown of them here, since it's unlikely I'll see any unless I go to grad school at UIUC:
Southern Illinois University, Altgeld Hall, Collegiate Gothic, 1896
University of Illinois, Altgeld Hall, Richardsonian Romanesque, 1897
Illinois State University, Cook Hall, Collegiate Gothic, 1898
Eastern Illinois University, Old Main, Collegiate Gothic, 1899
Altgeld Hall was designed by Chicago architect Charles E. Brush, and its construction took place between 1895-1899. It was known as the Administration Building until 1963, when it was renamed after the governor who called for its aesthetic expression. Like Ohio State’s University Hall, it was the first building on campus and housed the entirety of NIU’s functions until 1911, when McMurry Hall was built. These uses included the president’s office, classrooms, a gymnasium, the library, and science labs.
This mofo is wideeee…
Like many buildings of its age, Altgeld Hall was heavily altered over its lifetime, and by the 1980s deferred maintenance had caught up. Water damage, cracked plaster, and old building systems were among the building’s problems. A major restoration began in 1999 and concluded in 2004, which recreated many historic details that were removed over the years. It still houses the president’s office, but it is also NIU’s art museum, among other uses.
Altgeld Hall is very castle-like in its expression. The crenellated parapet and octagonal towers at each corner of the building are just missing the archers. However, the central projection is more Gothic in design. It is crowned by many pinnacles and a smaller, asymmetrical tower on the east side. Additionally, the pilasters along the windows emphasize the tower’s verticality.
The entrance is vaulted in a more Romanesque manner, including the squat, leafy columns. An owl rises above the center, likely representing knowledge, and grotesques resembling dragons project from the corners.
Some dad was giving his kid a tour of campus while I was nearby, and being the insufferable know-it-all I am, I corrected him and explained that gargoyles have water spouts, while these are simply ornamental. However, now that I look at it, the ones along the top of the tower could possibly be true gargoyles. Guess I’ll never know unless I come back when it rains.
What a gorgeous building.
Swen Parson Hall
Just west of Altgeld Hall is Swen Parson Hall, which houses NIU’s law school and law library. Another Collegiate Gothic building, it is a very late example of the style, having been completed in 1952. It appears to be under renovation.
I’ll say it--this building is much better than Ohio State’s contemporary nonsense attached to a Modernist box.
Davis Hall
Another Collegiate Gothic building, this one appears to date around the same time. It houses the Department of Geology and Environmental Geosciences, the Department of Geography, and an observatory (the dome above the entrance).
If you have no idea WTF the title means, it refers to NIU’s recent upset over Notre Dame during the 2024 college football season. Naturally, everyone in the DeKalb area lost their minds when this happened, and I’ve seen quite a few people with shirts that say “16-14” with NIU’s logo on them. It was basically another App State vs. Michigan moment, where an underdog team expected to get blown out ends up upsetting a blue-blood program.
Sources:
https://northernstar.info/44900/uncategorized/historys-foundations-altgeld-hall/
https://web.archive.org/web/20090314181838/http://www.niu.edu/PubAffairs/altgeld/entryway.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Altgeld%27s_castles
https://www.instagram.com/p/C9dnJK8imhh/
https://125keymoments.niu.edu/swen-parson-library-opens-1952/
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