MU in Brick and Mortar

Selection Criteria

MU in Brick and Mortar seeks to show the full span of the University's building history from 1892 to the present. To this end, we have attempted to cover all pertinent geographic areas of the campus, all major departments of the University, and all relevant periods of change since the late 19th century. The initial selection was of 43 buildings; the second stage of funding expanded this number to 98. The selection process was based on the following criteria:

Historical significance and interest

Each building selected has played an important and unique role in the history of the University. Many, such as the Conley House, were selected specifically because of their colorful and interesting histories.

Importance to the MU Campus

Buildings of special importance to the University were given high priority in the selection process. Not only do these buildings have rich histories, but they are of particular interest to the students, faculty, and alumni of the University. For example, Jesse Hall's exterior has changed little since 1892, but it is an extremely important part of the MU campus. Even though its construction history is not especially diverse, to create a project such as this and not include Jesse Hall would be unthinkable.

Amount and Quality of Available Information

There are some buildings on campus that play a large role in the life of the campus, but have changed little over the years. As a result, there is very little information on them within the holdings of the Building and Infrastructure Archives. These buildings, as a general rule, have not been included so that other buildings with more varied histories (and longer "paper trails") could be used instead.

Location

We have tried to give representation to all parts of campus. The project focuses primarily on the two oldest parts of campus (the Red Campus and White Campus); however, it still includes buildings from the whole campus, including such areas as the Agricultural Campus and the Research Park.

Age of the Buildings

Architectural styles have changed quite a bit since 1892. We have tried to capture these changes by including buildings from all subsequent eras. The buildings in this project range from the very old (e.g., the Residence on the Quad) to the new (e.g., Cornell Hall). All of the surviving buildings from the 19th century have been included in the project.

This project was originally developed with support from the Institute of Museum and Library Services under the provisions of the Library Services and Technology Act as administered by the state of Missouri.