Van Wormer Hall

t standing building on campus, Van Wormer library was erected in 1899, opened in 1901 and dedicated in 1903, the building was the first dedicated library of the university. At the time, the building only cost $64,000 to complete, which would equate to a current day value of over $1,500,000. Architects Samuel Hannaford & Sons were responsible for the very “contemporary” design at the time, and completed many other notable Cincinnati buildings such as Music Hall and the Cincinnati Observatory. Inside Van Womer were kept the university’s 40,000 volumes as well as the entire collection of the Ohio Historical and Philosophical Society. The building had reading rooms, was considered “fire proof” and offered the university’s first book store.

The architecture of the building is of note as well. The dome that currently adorns the structure is a replica of the dome erected on the building some years after its dedication. The dome was actually an exact replica of the dome on St. Peter’s Cathedral in the Vatican. A university professor interested in re-creating the dome, actually wrote to the Vatican requesting the plans for the building, which they gave to him for the project. The original dome was razed and a replica erected in its place during the 2005 renovations of the building.

The prestige of the first library of the university was short lived. By 1916 the university’s library collection had outgrown Van Wormer and the building was transitioned to other uses. These ranged from classrooms, to subject libraries, administrative offices, to its current function as the offices of the associate vice president of academic affairs and provost of the university.

Van Wormer was a gift from Asa Van Wormer through the liquidation of railway bonds to honor his wife, Julia Van Wormer.