Buckman Hall and Thomas Hall

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Buckman Hall and Thomas Hall are buildings on the campus of the University of Florida. Constructed from 1905-1906, Buckman Hall and Thomas Hall were the first two university buildings to be built, and were dedicated on September 27, 1906. Buckman Hall was named after Henry H. Buckman, the member of the Florida Legislature who has written the Buckman Act, the act that led to the creation of the University of Florida, and Thomas Hall was named after Major William Reuben Thomas, the mayor of Gainesville who supported the donation of 517 acres of land and $40,000 from the Gainesville to the state so that the Florida Legislature would built the university in Gainesville rather than in Lake City.

The buildings are constructed of brick, are 3.5 floors, are late Gothic Revival-Tudorbethan in style, and were designed by the Atlanta-based architectural firm Edwards & Walters, and was constructed by Jacksonville-based contractor W.T. Hadlow, at a cost of $75,250 per building.

[edit] Early history (1906-1939)

Both buildings were designed for student housing but have served many uses and in their early history were used to house the entire university: Buckman Hall contained a six-bed infirmary, gymnasium, and apartment for a professor (the "officer-in-charge"), while Thomas Hall contained administration offices in the north section, classrooms, laboratories, an auditorium, a library, a dining room, and a kitchen in the center sections, and an agricultural laboratory in the south section. Both buildings had hardwood floors and potbellied stoves (for which the university provided wood for students to burn). In 1906, students paid $2.50 in rent to live in the halls.

The collection of the Florida Museum of Natural History were for a time displayed at Thomas Hall.

In 1911, final plans were made for the construction of four additional buildings: an agriculture building (Floyd Hall), the University Commons Building (Cafeteria), the language hall (Anderson Hall), and the College of Education building (Peabody Hall). When these facilities were completed in fall 1913 (after a delay in funding for the Language Hall and Education Building), parts of Thomas Hall were left vacant, and Thomas Hall was renovated for use as a residence hall, opening in 1914.

[edit] Later history (1940-2000)

In 1940, Thomas Hall was linked to Fletcher and Sledd Halls, forming a "UF" shape that can be seen from the air. From 1940 to 1949, the interior of Buckman and Thomas Halls were renovated, and the wood structures were replaced by steel and concrete, at a cost estimated to be between $37,000 and $54,000.

In 1974, Thomas Hall was added to the National Register of Historic Places, with the register reading

1905-1906, Edwards and Walters, architects. Brick, 3 1/2 stories, H-shaped, hipped and pitched roof sections; crenulated parapet interrupted by stepped gables placed over a division, each with its own entrance and bay window; regular fenestration, stone quoins, elaborate arched large stone scroll brackets; connected to another building at E end of S wing. Late Gothic Revival. One of first 2 buildings on University of Florida campus.

A press release issued when Thomas Hall was added to register told the story of the campus legend of "Old Steve,” the ghost who haunts Murphree Area, the last all-male residence area (it was designated coed in 1972). According to the legend, “Old Steve” was the original head cook on campus who worked in the kitchen in the center of Thomas Hall, beneath the classrooms and library. The legend states that his Old Steve disrupted the campus through his shouting and cursing at his kitchen crew, the banging of pots and pans, the hissing of steam, and the loud crackling of fire and pans as lunch was prepared–the same sounds heard when the steam heating system in the Murphree Area halls is turned on every fall.

[edit] Present day

Increased electrical demands of students put heavy burdens on Thomas Hall, draining power and causing circuit overloads and thrown breakers, with four to six residents sharing a 15-amp service. In 2000, $2.5 million four-year electrical upgrade project began with the aim of providing at least one 20-amp circuit per student. The project required total rewiring of the halls–from transformers to each outlet and switch–and the installation of new 23,000-volt primary distribution switch.

In 2002, a $500,000 project to landscape the university’s historic area (the Murphree Area courtyard and University Avenue area) when Florida alumni Herb and Catherine Yardley of Ft. Lauderdale gave $250,000 and the university matched the funds. Landscape architecture students at the university assisted in the design, which includes proposed sidewalks, landscaping plants and design, walls, and seating areas, among other aspects,

Thomas Hall is presently coed by sections. Occupancy is 170 residents in this non air-conditioned facility. Plan A Visitation (restricted visitation) special housing areas for men and women are located in Thomas Hall in Section D and J, respectively