University Hall is a $3.75 million replica of its predecessor and Ohio State’s first and, for a time, only academic building. Old University Hall opened in 1873, and students and faculty both lived in and attended classes in the original building which stood on the north edge of William Neil’s old orchard. The Board of Trustees purchased Neil’s land in 1871 to build the new college. Old University Hall was located like an Old English Manor house on the highest ground far from the main road (High Street) with stables and utility buildings behind it. Old University Hall was powered by gas and coal with a gas plant attached to the back of the building to provide light and fuel for laboratory experiments.
In 1973, the original building was demolished; and today’s building, a 7/8 scale replica, was dedicated in 1976. While the exterior of University Hall attempts to be faithful to the original by retaining the original clock, stone arch and pillars from the doorway, the inside is clean, sterile, and historic only in that there are old photos. A photoelectric devise in the flagpole atop the tower raises and lowers the flag, sometimes several times a day, if it is cloudy then sunny.
Across from University Hall is Sphinx Plaza, a 75th anniversary gift to the University from the senior honorary organization Sphinx. The panels carry the names of all members by years. A sundial – which now stands in the plaza on classical columns of marble given by the class of 1905 – originally rested on the grassy area in front of University Hall on the 40th parallel and within a few rods of the 85th meridian, indicating the sun and central standard times.
A latitude marker called the Latitude Stone is also near the plaza. Set in 1881 by 2 members of the first OSU faculty, the stone was relocated in 1932 by Dr. Coddington, professor of geodetic engineering, to mark the campus’ location on the 40th parallel, the same as Peking and Madrid.