Mission Statement

The mission of the MU in Brick and Mortar web site is to present the construction history of the University of Missouri-Columbia campus, one building at a time. The web site pairs the Building and Infrastructure Archives' architectural drawings with historical photos and documents from University Archives, the Western Historical Manuscript Collection, and other sources. Further historical facts and background information have been included to provide more detail and contextual reference.

To this point, MU in Brick and Mortar has documented the history of 98 different buildings and sites from all parts of the Columbia campus dating back to 1892, including several historic locations which no longer exist. This was the year a fire destroyed Academic Hall, leaving nothing of the original building but its six columns that still stand on Francis Quadrangle today. There are, however, a few buildings that pre-date the fire, and, while they have a place on these pages, the campus as we know it today essentially began in 1892.

The project was funded by two Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA) grants from the Institute of Museum and Library Services, administered by the Missouri State Library. The first grant was received in 2003 and the second ran from from July 2004 through August 2005.

The Making of MU in Brick and Mortar

The creation of this web site presented a number of noteworthy challenges. Our initial challenge was to select only 98 locations, as the MU main campus has more than 200 buildings, plus many other campus landmarks such as the Columns, Peace Park, and Lowry Mall. Conducting the research on these locations would prove an equally daunting task, due to the overwhelming amounts of material and numerous sources. Finally, and perhaps most importantly, was the challenge of synthesizing the data, developing a logical, intuitive presentation, and creating a unified web site from the different sources. The completed MU in Brick and Mortar web site stands as a testament to all those who helped with the project.