Academic Hall was the original main building of the University of Missouri. It was dedicated in 1843 and destroyed by fire in 1892. Academic Hall's six Ionic columns, today known as The Columns, stand on Francis Quadrangle as the most recognizable symbol of the University of Missouri.
Academic Hall as it appeared after original construction
Academic Hall, after the addition of wings in 1885
The cornerstone in Jesse Hall Rotunda
The destruction of Academic Hall by fire on Saturday evening, January 9, 1892
The University of Missouri is a public land-grant research university in Columbia, Missouri. It is Missouri's largest university and the flagship of the four-campus University of Missouri System. MU was founded in 1839 as the first public university west of the Mississippi River. It has been a member of the Association of American Universities since 1908 and is classified among "R1: Doctoral Universities – Very high research activity".
Fire at Academic Hall, 1892
Journalist Marguerite Martyn visited the campus in 1910 and sketched these two fashionable students with the architectural columns behind them. At that time, the school was named Missouri State University.
Francis Quadrangle features the columns and Jesse Hall.
Tower of Memorial Union
