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Bascom Hill facts for kids

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Bascom Hill Historic District
Bascom Hall in Madison.JPG
Bascom Hall atop Bascom Hill
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Location Bounded by Observatory Dr., University Ave., and N. Park, Langdon, and State Sts.
Madison, Wisconsin
Built 1849
Architectural style Gothic, Romanesque
NRHP reference No. 74000065
Added to NRHP September 12, 1974

Bascom Hill is the main quadrangle that forms the symbolic core of the University of Wisconsin–Madison campus. It is located on the opposite end of State Street from the Wisconsin State Capitol, and is named after John Bascom, former president of the University of Wisconsin. The hill itself is a drumlin, formed by glacial deposits about 18,000 years ago.

The hill is crowned by Bascom Hall, the main administration building for the campus. Near the main entrance to Bascom Hall sits a statue of President Abraham Lincoln. The first university building, North Hall, was constructed on Bascom Hill in 1851 and is still in use by the Department of Political Science. The second building, South Hall, was built in 1855 and is now used by the administration of the University of Wisconsin College of Letters and Science. The original buildings were designed by the architect John F. Rague.

Madison State University
1885 engraving of UW campus looking up Bascom Hill

Buildings

South side

  • South Hall (1855)
  • University of Wisconsin Law School
  • Music Hall (formerly Assembly Hall and Library) (1879)

North side

  • John Muir Park (1964)
  • North Hall (1851)
  • Education Building
  • Science Hall (1888)
Bascom Hall at dusk
Bascom Hall and the statue of Abraham Lincoln


Images for kids

  • North Hall, UW Madison

    North Hall

  • 37 01bascom (11359332243)

    Bascom Hall with the new entry and dome, between 1895 and 1916

  • Bascom Hall Fire 1917

    Bascom Hall on fire in 1916

  • Musichall

    Music Hall

  • Science Hall, University of Wisconsin Madison

    Science Hall in 2014

  • UW College of Law 1893

    1893 engraving of the old Law building

  • University of Wisconsin Armory and Gymnasium

    Armory and Gymnasium, a.k.a. the Red Gym

  • Americana 1920 Libraries - Wisconsin State Historical Society

    Library shared by university and State Historical Society, around 1920

  • Wisconsin Historical Society library reading room

    Historical Society reading room, 2010

  • University of Wisconsin–Madison School of Education

    Old Education

  • Birge Hall

    Birge in 2001

  • Memorial Union and quadrangle

    Memorial Union at right, Historical Society at left

  • Uw-carillon

    Carillon tower

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