Olin Hall sunken garden photograph, c. 1970

Olin Hall sunken garden photograph, c. 1970

As part of the original design of Olin Hall, the sunken garden provided students a place to research horticulture and enjoy nature's beauty. Bradley's maintenance staff and student employees maintained the garden, planting annuals, weeding, and watering. In 1994, the Asian Student Organization organized a volunteer project to clean up the garden. The garden was demolished in May 2000 to make room for the expansion of Olin Hall.

Bradley University secured a $2.5 million grant from the Olin Foundation of New York City to construct and equip a separate, modern facility on campus for instruction in the sciences, aptly named Olin Hall. The Olin Foundation provided building grants to institutions of higher education and the process of receiving funding from Olin Foundation took years and only was quite an achievement for a private college or university.

The building of a modern science facility on campus actually took precedence over the second phase of reconstruction of Bradley Hall after the devastating fire of 1963. Olin Hall was dedicated in 1968. Advances in science again necessitated modernization of the science building by the late 1990s. Renovation and a new addition of 59,000 square feet were undertaken at a cost of $25 million, bringing the total area of the building to 135,000 square feet. Rededication was held October 3, 2002.

Bill Engdahl

c. 1975

Universities and colleges--Illinois--Peoria

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