Swift Hall

[1]

Situated within the Schneider Quad, formerly known as the Baldwin Quad, is Swift Hall the second building erected for the Engineering Department at the University of Cincinnati. Constructed in 1926, Swift Hall was designed by Harry Hake to be fireproof, made of steel and concrete, red wire-cut brick and Terra cotta trimming. [2] The building was the last word in architecture, design and construction methods as new inventions changed the fabric of construction. [3]

[4]

Swift Hall, named after the generous benefactor John B. Swift, housed the electrical engineering department for the expanding engineering department. [5] Swift was the president of the Eagle Pitcher Lead Company and donated $150,000 in memory of his brother who had been a graduate of the University. [6] Another generous donation by John Emery enabled the University to build the building. [7] Like other engineering programs across the United States, the University of Cincinnati's Engineering Department competed in the burgeoning world of technology. Through the persistence of UC instructor Paul Herget, who became an astronaut, the University beat out East Schools like Yale to obtain one of the first computers utilized in colleges. [8] The computer was an IBM 650 and allowed UC’s Engineering Department to develop the first program to teach computer programming to the visually impaired as well as those with disabilities.[9] In 2002 and 2003 Swift Hall, along with other buildings at UC, were renovated to include computer-based classrooms, offices and meeting spaces. [10] Currently Swift Hall houses the Main Campus Newspaper, the News Record, offices and classrooms. On a fun side note: astronomer Paul Herget later helped design the Pringle Potato Chip. [11]

[1] Photo from the collection of the University of Cincinnati Archives and Rare Books. No date listed with photo.

[2] "University Building To Be Last Word In Architecture." Cincinnati Times Star, February 18, 1925. Page 20.

[3] Ibid.

[4] Photo from the collection of the University of Cincinnati Archives and Rare Books. No date listed with photo.

[5] "John B. Swift Is Donor of $150,000 for University Engineering Building; Construction to Begin Next June." Cincinnati Commercial Tribune, February 12, 1925. Page 1.

[6] Ibid.

[7] Ibid.

[8] M.B. Reilly, "Celebration Set for June 4: Fifty Years Ago, UC Got Its First Computer." UC News, December 26, 2008. http://www.uc.edu/news/nr.aspx?id=8443 (accessed October 13, 2011).

[9] Ibid.

[10] Dawn Fuller, "Meet Me on MainStreet." UC News, May 6, 2008. http://www.uc.edu/news/nr.aspx?id=3940 (accessed October 13, 2011).

[11] M.B.Reilly, "Celebration Set for June 4: Fifty Years Ago, UC Got Its First Computer." UC News, December 26, 2008. http://www.uc.edu/news/nr.aspx?id=8443 (accessed October 13, 2011).