Kirkland Hall

Kirkland Hall with two towers

Kirkland Hall, designed by William Crawford Smith, was built in 1874 as the first teaching building at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee. Located on the then 74-acre Vanderbilt's Main Campus, it burned down in 1905 due to a large fire and was rebuilt in 1906. In the following years, many renovations and reconstructions took place on a variety of scales. In 2015, the FUTURE VU Initiative was proposed, with one of the projects being the Kirkland Hall renovation. Initially projected to be completed in October 2023, the project was only finalized in the early months of 2024.

Kirkland Hall rebuilt with only one tower

The original Kirkland Hall – also named Main Building, Old Main, University Hall, and College Hall – was built originally in Victorian Gothic style, with two towers flanking the centered gable, here protruding out, much like a pediment. After the 1905 fire, Kirkland Hall was rebuilt in Italianate style, with only one tower reconstructed. A new bell was funded to replace the previous old bell with donations from alumni, Vanderbilt students, and across Nashville. In 1937, chancellor James Hampton Kirkland ended his leadership and he died on August 5, 1939. The board, out of respect for his contributions to the University, renamed the building from Old Main (called College Hall in recent years) to Kirkland Hall.

Until March 2024, the Kirkland Hall renovation has still remained closed, allegedly due to construction. Protests took place inside and outside of the building, leading to several students suspended.

History

In July 1874, Bishop McTyeire commissioned William Crawford Smith to design and build the first buildings of Vanderbilt Campus. In April 1874, he joined in laying the cornerstone of the first Main Building (now known as the Kirkland Hall). The building housed classrooms, libraries, laboratories, seven new faculty homes, and a small observatory.

1875–1905

The Main Building

From the Main Building's onset, its design was concerned by the first Chancellor Landon C. Garland, who was put in charge of the design of the first buildings together with William C. Smith by Bishop McTyeire. Not worrying about the Victorian Gothic style in general, Garland was primarily preoccupied with the supervision of the design of scientific rooms in the Main Building. However, even with careful projections and inspections, the Main Building faced the problem of overcrowding. During 1878-1879, Science Hall, by accommodating geology labs, helped end the overcrowding problem in Main Building.

In 1884–1885, Vanderbilt University met its low ebb. Enrollment dropped, and arsonists set fire to the Main Building and others. The building withstood this disaster and stood as one of the most imposing architectures on campus. About a decade later, in 1899, with the help of a new endowment (totaled $1.2 million), the heating and sewage systems on campus were rebuilt. The Main was connected to Science Hall via pipes, and water closets in Main met the demands of water supply for the college.

Kirkland Hall After the Fire

On Thursday, April 20, 1905, Vanderbilt students had their morning classes as usual, not knowing what was forthcoming. At around 11 a.m., they smelled the smoke and later when the blaze was discovered, it was already uncontrollable due to the ineffectiveness of the water system. Students fled out of the building, some of them bringing their books with them. Many of them threw books and lab apparatus, the precious assets that Chancellor Garland brought back to Vanderbilt decades ago, out of windows. The Nashville fire department came, but was unable to save the building. The Old Main, proudly erected for almost 20 years, was burnt to only the outer shell.

Fortunately, casualties were minimal and many books and machines were saved. The main library next to the top floor originally contained around 22,000 books, 4,000 of them saved by the students. On that day, Chancellor James Kirkland addressed the calamity in a letter to the anxious student body, reassured them that the academic program would not be interrupted, and praised the student body which stood with the Vanderbilt University bearing unmoved confidence. Next morning on Friday, the classes began normally at 8 am in substitute buildings.

1906–1939

Kirkland Hall

The year 1905 had been a critical year for Vanderbilt. Even though its Main was burnt to the ground, the morale of Vanderbilt community was high. Prior to this fire, the University was in a serious financial crisis, and failed to meet proposed academic expenses. Chancellor James Kirkland, seeing opportunity out of crisis, deemed the fire a perfect time for fundraising. William K. Vanderbilt, grandson of Cornelius Vanderbilt, contributed $150,000; the citizens of Nashville pledged over $50,000; alumni contributed around $10,000. Even children of the campus collected $553, enough for a new clock and bell.

The raised funds were able to met the restoration costs of the building. He and his engineers directed the project. Even though the rebuilding of the Main failed to include a new library due to a turn-down of expected grant from Andrew Carnegie, the restoration in general was satisfying to the Vanderbilt community. A flat roof replaced the original gables, one tower was erected, and perhaps most importantly, the interior was of reinforced concrete, finally fire-proof. Still lacking the old magnificence, the construction of the new Main (then called College Hall) nonetheless manifested the solidarity of the Vanderbilt community.

In the following years, the College Hall constantly faced the pressure of limited spatial capacity. By World War I, the enrollment soared and the four class buildings had exhibit inadequacies to meet the booming academic needs of all students. In 1925, 162 law students occupied the top floor of the College Hall and over 1,000 students crammed into the four class buildings - Main, Furman, Science, and Engineering. The circumstances got even more dire in 1927, as an additional 20,000 volumes of selected books came into the College Hall to replenish the 50,000-volume repertoire. In 1933, the College Hall had to spare its space for engineering students, as the Engineering building was unable to house them all. The critical moment came on February 19, 1932, when Wesley Hall burned. The reconstruction cost for the Wesley Hall was too great to be met, and it was not rebuilt. The student body had to be disseminated to other classrooms, worsening the situation.

With all these years of challenges, the College Hall stood still. A non-neglectable contributor was James Hampton Kirkland. In the years when he led Vanderbilt, he helped boost the enrollment, grew the faculty, developed the campus, raised the funds, and saved the institution from many crises. On January 2, 1937, Kirkland submitted his official resignation letter. Two years later in 1939, he died on August 5, shortly after he moved to his lakeside cabin in Ontario. Out of due respect, the Board of Trust renamed the College Hall to Kirkland Hall.

1940–present

Recent Kirkland

In the 50s, fraternities and sororities took much space of the Vanderbilt student life. By the year 1959, 76 percent of men and 79 percent of women students were involved in social fraternities and sororities. Then Chancellor Harvie Branscomb wanted a reformation, one that overturned the social structure so that students felt more belonging to the university instead of their fraternities and sororities. The reform began early in 1951 but received much resistance. In April and May 1959, violence broke out. The students orchestrated a prank on Sunday, May 17, hacking the new carillon installed in Kirkland Tower and making a ghostly indictment of the new fraternity scheme in the name of the "Ghost of Kirkland". The joke got worse when 500 boys gathered in front of the tower, many in pajamas, shooting off firecrackers, throwing water-filled bags, and threatening a "panty raid" after moving to the women's dorm. On Tuesday, a more determined group of around 250 indeed tried to get into two dorms, and this led to the deans taking serious action. As many names of the boys were collected for disciplinary actions as possible, the "Ghost of Kirkland" was accused, and the hackers were initially expelled, only later did who make up for the semester while remaining on probation.

In 1960, another picketing took place at Kirkland Hall. In early march, Divinity School students picketed Kirkland Hall in support of James Lawson, then a Divinity School student who was expelled from Vanderbilt due to racial conflicts. As early as November 1959, a number of black college students hosted sit-ins at Harveys and Cain-Sloan department stores, demonstrating an injustice and asking to talk to the owners. Lawson took part in this series of activity, applauded the students' efforts, taught the students how to perform nonviolent sit-ins with great self-discipline, and tried his best to secure them success. However, he was identified as the leading organizer and as the tension brewed, he was accused of advising young people to violate the law. In face of immense pressure, Chancellor Branscomb held board meetings and discussed the action on Lawson, which eventually led to his expulsion. The debate over the controverted decision was relentless, and Kirkland Hall was one of the locations where protestors gathered.

Six year later, an expansion and renovation of Kirkland Hall began to take place in 1966, following ambitious academic facility expansions. In 1968, the rear entry stairs, the rear 4th and 5th floors, elevators and dock ramp were added. Current HVAC and electrical systems were installed in 1988.

2023 renovation

To celebrate the 150th anniversary of Vanderbilt's founding, Vanderbilt dedicated over $20 Million into finishing the fifth project of FUTURE VU, the renovation of Kirkland hall, starting in 2022 and ending in 2023. In a 2023 debrief, Chancellor Daniel Diermeier admitted that Kirkland Hall had not been touched for around 25 years, and there were problems with water system, windows, instabilities of floors, and so on.

The project, lead by Centric Architecture, a Nashville-based design firm, sought to enhance accessibility and inclusion, connectivity and community enhancement, and sustainability. Some project details include: making the entrance accessible, repairing of the roof and drainage system, and redesigning the restrooms to be gender-neutral. Initially the project was predicted to be completed in Oct. 2023, but was only finished in early 2024.

James Hampton Kirkland

James H. Kirkland, portrait by Ella Sophonisba Hergesheimer

James Hampton Kirkland was born and raised in Spartanburg, South Carolina on September 9, 1859. He received his college education at Wofford College in Spartanburg and his PhD at Leipzig University. After graduation, he was appointed Professor of Latin at Vanderbilt University in 1886. Seven years later, he was appointed as Vanderbilt University's second Chancellor.

During his tenure, he raised funds, developed the campus, and led Vanderbilt University through various crisis. Two prominent contributions of his included the 1905 Main Fire and 1910 Methodist warfare. In the former crisis, he helped boost the morale, raised renovation funds, and resumed the normal academic schedule as fast as he could; in the latter one, he managed to get rid of the Methodist's church's right in naming board members and gained Vanderbilt relative independence from the church. In 1937, he ended his tenure and two years later, he died in Ontario. Kirkland was regarded as one of the most important chancellors in Vanderbilt History. The board, after his death, renamed the Main Building after him.

Present day

Today Kirkland Hall is primarily used as an office building, no longer assuming the responsibility of holding regular academic classes. It has been, however, a heated place on campus where celebrations of festivals happen together with protests. In recent years, sit-ins and picketing have taken place many times.

2012 Protest: Tent City

2012 protest

To end Vanderbilt’s investment in an African agricultural corporation that was accused of land-grabbing, Vanderbilt students organized a sit-in at Kirkland and a two-month long "tent-city" starting mid-march 2012. The university allegedly eliminated the company from its endowment in 2013, and Chancellor Nicholas Zeppos personally responded to the letter submitted by the activists.

2015 protest

In 2015, Vanderbilt's Hidden Dores, under the leadership of Akaninyene Ruffin, silently marched to Kirkland Hall. Each student presented a signed list of demands to Zeppos, advocating for a more prominent student role in discussions regarding diversity, equity, and inclusion. They also emphasized the necessity for improvements in mental health assistance, curriculum, staffing, accountability, and policy.

2016 protest

On Nov. 11, 2016, hundreds of members of the Vanderbilt community met to protest Donald Trump’s election as president.

The demonstrators marched across campus, passing through Rand Hall, Sarratt Student Center, the Divinity School, Law School, Warren and Moore Colleges, Wilson Hall, and finally reaching Kirkland Hall.

5 days later, students sat outside of Kirkland Hall and demanded Zeppos declare Vanderbilt a “Sanctuary Campus” for undocumented immigrants. From 12:30 p.m. till 4:30 p.m., the students hosted a sit-in to pressure Chancellor Zeppos, who happened to be out of office.

2018 Legend's Tour

On Oct. 24 at 5:30 p.m., outside Kirkland Hall, students celebrated Halloween by Spooking each other.

2019 Protest

2019 protest

Dr. BethAnn McLaughlin, a professor at Vanderbilt Medical School, who was advocating for tenure, had her previously approved tenure decision overturned due to her involvement in multiple Title IX investigations, reportedly by retaliation from some members of the University. The only remedy was to have Chancellor Zeppos, who had the final say on this matter, overturn her rejection. Students in support of Dr. BethAnn McLaughlin held sit-ins in front of Kirkland Hall.

2022 protest

Dores Divest organized a climate walkout at 12 p.m. CST, February 16, 2022, in front of Rand Dining Hall. The walkout ended with a march in front of the Kirkland Hall. The purpose was to act against the university's investment in fossil fuels.

2024 protest

2024 Protest

On March 26, 2024, a group of students entered Kirkland Hall with intention to protest while it was still closed under construction, reportedly in demand of a higher degree of free speech. The sit-in continued to 6 a.m. the next morning, resulted in 27 students suspended. Eli Motycka, a reporter for the Nashville Scene, was arrested by VUPD near Kirkland Hall while covering student protests. Many students rallied outside the building in support of the suspended peers throughout the coming week.

Up until April 9, the protest continued. Some students got arrested and expelled. More marches happened while picketing were constantly staged. There have been no trend of this protest leveling off.