Wednesday, December 3, 2014

University of Alabama History - Smith Hall

Smith Hall is home to the Alabama Museum of Natural History. The building has extensive displays of geology, zoology, mineralogy, paleontology, ethnology, history, and photography. On display are also the Hodges meteorite, the only meteorite confirmed to have struck a human, and the State Fossil of Alabama: Basilosaurus cetoides.

A lecture hall exists on the upper floor along with a teaching laboratory, offices, and three classrooms. Two more classrooms exist on the ground floor along with the museum which also takes up the upper floor’s center area. 

Smith Hall, constructed in 1910, was named for Eugene Allen Smith, a UA professor and State Geologist. The building's Beaux-Arts architecture was meant to reflect, on a smaller scale, the grandiose national history museums built in Chicago, New York, and Washington. The Grand Gallery and Mezzanine areas have recently received fresh paint, new lighting and restored wood floors.

Eugene Allen Smith

Laying the cornerstone of Smith Hall

Smith Hall

Smith Hall

Smith Hall

Construction on Smith Hall

Smith Hall