| Strong Hall | |
| Location: | 213 Strong Hall, U. of Kansas, Jct. Jayhawk Dr. and Poplar Ln. Lawrence, Kansas |
| Coordinates: | 38.9597°N -95.2467°W |
| Built: | 1911 |
| Architect: | McArdle, Montrose Pallen |
| Architecture: | Classical Revival |
| Added: | September 18, 1998 |
| Area: | less than one acre |
| Refnum: | 98001174 |
Strong Hall is an administrative hall at the University of Kansas in Lawrence, Kansas, United States. The hall is on the National Register of Historic Places.[1] [2] [3]
After 1900, rising enrollments overwhelmed the Old Fraser Hall, known at the time as the "university building," necessitating the construction of a new administration and academic center. Chancellor Frank H. Strong (1902–1920) began requesting financing from the Kansas Legislature for the new structure. Montrose Pallen McArdle, a St. Louis architectural company, was chosen to design the building that Strong and the regents anticipated would be "the center of the university architecture as well as the university life."[4]
Under the advisement of State Architect John Stanton, art professor William A. Griffith, and College Dean Olin Templin, McArdle designed a $500,000 classical Renaissance building that included pillars, a rotunda, an art gallery, and a classical museum. The Kansas Legislature objected to the scope and cost, and the designs were curtailed, while remnants of the original design vision remain; the building was ultimately finished in a Classical Revival style.