Old Chemistry
If there was any department at the University of Cincinnati that needed a home, it was the Chemistry Department. Starting in 1876, the Chemistry Department is one of the oldest education departments of the University of Cincinnati and it awarded its first Bachelors of Science in 1880.2 When the department first opened its doors to students, it was located in an old school building in downtown Cincinnati, but it did not last long before relocating to the basement of the Cincinnati Medical College on Vine Street in Over-the-Rhine.3 After the opening of McMicken College originally known as University Building, Henry Hanna sent a letter to the University with the intent on donating money for a new wing on the building. 4
The Department of Chemistry moved to the new wing in 1896.6 The new wing served the departments of Chemistry, Civil Engineering and Physics, but due to the rapid growth at the university, the departments quickly outgrew the wing.7 In 1912, the Department of Chemistry was authorized by the university to draw up plans for a new building.8 Ground was broken in June 1914 for the Chemistry building; half of the money raised was from bonds issued by City Council in the amount of $500,000.9 The building was designed by Tietig and Leered and is constructed of red wire-cut brick and Terra cotta trimming.10 The university and the Department of Chemistry planned the function of all levels and rooms in the building including the basement.11
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Inside the Old Chem building, the entrance foyer has an often-unnoticed piece of history. A fountain, made by the famous Rookwood Pottery Company of Cincinnati, was designed to showcase the evolution of modern chemistry.13
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Although the Chemistry department moved from the building leaving behind the work of art, current students of math and languages can catch a glance as they head to classes everyday.
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1 The Cincinnatian. University of Cincinnati Yearbook 1896. Earhart & Richardson Engravers & Printers. 1896. Page 14.
2 The Chemistry Department, "History of the Department." Accessed October 13, 2011. http://www.artsci.uc.edu/collegedepts/chemistry/about/history.aspx.
3 “Dedication Of Chemistry Building, To Mark Epoch in University Science Department, New Home to Have Modern Equipment and Accommodate Five Hundred Students”, Cincinnati Enquirer, February 18, 1917. Page 28.
4 University of Cincinnati, Formal Opening of The New Chemical Laboratory, Pamplet, UC Publication, 1917, Courtesy of University of Cincinnati Archive and Rare Books.
5 The Cincinnatian. University of Cincinnati Yearbook 1895. Earhart & Richardson Engravers & Printers.1895. Page 8.
6 University of Cincinnati, Formal Opening of The New Chemical Laboratory, UC Publication, 1917.
7 Ibid.
8 Ibid
9 Ibid
10 “Dedication Of Chemistry Building, To Mark Epoch in University Science Department, New Home to Have Modern Equipment and Accommodate Five Hundred Students”, Cincinnati Enquirer, February 18, 1917. Page 28.
11 University of Cincinnati, Formal Opening of The New Chemical Laboratory, Pamplet, UC Publication, 1917, Courtesy of University of Cincinnati Archive and Rare Books.
12 Ibid.
13 S.J. Miller, The Rookwood Fountain, The Co-operative Engineer, Published by University of Cincinnati, College of Engineering and Commerce, Vol. 2, No. 2, 1922.
14 Ibid.
15 Postcard from the Collection of the Public Library of Cincinnati and Hamilton County, Greater Cincinnati Memory Project, http://www.cincinnatimemory.org/