by Katy Knapp
Daily Lobo
A $120,000 grant awarded to UNM will help the University decide the future of some buildings on campus.
The grant awarded by the J. Paul Getty Trust will fund a survey of about 60 UNM buildings constructed before 1970.
University planner Joe McKinney said the campus has some of the most interesting buildings in the country. Among the more historical are Marron Hall, Mitchell Hall, Zimmerman Library, Hodgin Hall and the engineering computer pod.
Mitchell Hall was built in 1950 and is most often used as classroom space. It was designed by former Santa Fe architect John Gaw Meem.
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McKinney said the rumor Mitchell Hall has never been refurbished is false. Air conditioning was added in 1971 and the classrooms received new fixtures.
"All of the fixed chairs in the lecture halls were taken out and sent to the state penitentiary for repair," he said.
Elevators were added in 1976 to bring the building up to code for students with mobility impairment. Within the past few years, the building has also been re-roofed and the bathrooms upgraded.
"The truth is refurbishment is ongoing because state building requirements change," he said.
Marron Hall is one of the more interesting buildings because it was two separate buildings built by two architects, McKinney said.
Meem designed the east wing where Student Publications reside. It was originally used as a women's dormitory.
Terry Gugliotta, UNM archivist, said the students moved out by 1957 when the nursing and math departments took over. Student Publications moved into the building in 1974. Marron Hall is not scheduled for demolition, McKinney said, responding to claims that it is due to be torn down in five years.
Zimmerman Library, another Meem design, was built in 1938. One of the more interesting parts of the design is the mural in the stairwell that represents the history of language from the very beginning all the way up to computer binary code, McKinney said.
There have been three additions to Zimmerman Library. Another addition into the north parking lot is in discussion phase.
"It's not in the five year plan," he said. "But it will be done."
The oldest building on campus is Hodgin Hall located on the southwest corner of main campus. It was built in 1892 as a Victorian schoolhouse.
It was remodeled in 1908 to fit the Spanish Pueblo style.
McKinney said it is on the national historic registry. "When it was done, it set the trend of Spanish Pueblo style in the U.S.," he said.
There is one building that is also historically significant even though it doesn't look that way at first glance, McKinney said.
The engineering computer pod near the Parish Library was built in 1916.
"It looks very plain, but it is arguably the first building of modern architecture in the U.S.," McKinney said.
He said the former chemistry building was designed at a period when function came before form.
"If you look at the side of the building, there are solid metal gates," he said, which is very reminiscent of Frank Lloyd Wright, a famous modern architect.
