The Columns, (sculpture).

The Columns, (sculpture).

Hills, A. Stephen, architect.

The Columns, (sculpture).

Columns: Hinkson Creek limestone; Bases: concrete.

6 columns. Each column: approx. H. 43 ft. x Diam. 6 ft.; Each base: approx. H. 4 ft. 2 in. x 9 ft. 4 in. x 9 ft. 4 in.

Six Ionic columns are mounted upon square bases. They have unfluted shafts and are lit at night.

Architecture -- Detail -- Column

Outdoor Sculpture -- Missouri -- Columbia

Architectural component

Administered by University of Missouri, Campus Facilities, General Services Building, 900 East Stadium, Columbia, Missouri 65211

Located University of Missouri, Francis Quadrangle, Columbia, Missouri

Formerly located University of Missouri, Academic Hall, north portico, Columbia, Missouri

The columns are the traditional symbol of the University of Missouri Columbia campus and are used as a backdrop for many campus activities and events. Originally, they upheld the north portico of Academic Hall, the University's first building. Academic Hall was constructed from 1840 to 1843, A. Stephen Hills was the architect. The polished limestone for the columns came from Hinkson Creek valley. The columns were erected in 1842. Academic Hall was dedicated in 1843. On January 9, 1892, the building was destroyed by fire and the columns were fire-scarred and damaged. The building was razed and the area around the columns was regraded. The original steps the columns stood on were deemed unsafe and buried. The columns were later integrated into the design of Francis Quadrangle, designed by state institutional architect Morris Frederick Bell (modeled after Thomas Jefferson's design for the University of Virginia). Francis Quadrangle (also known as Red Campus) was named to the National Register of Historic Places in 1974.

Over the years, ivy has been allowed to grow on the columns. In 1937, broken parts of the columns, which had been warped by the 1892 fire and had weathered badly, were removed. The foundations were buttressed and the stone waterproofed. In 1949, the bases were again reinforced. A lighting system to illuminate the columns was installed in June, 1967. The columns have been the object of student pranks over the years.

For related information see the University's Board of Curator minutes, Aug. 30, 1895. IAS files contain transcription of historical marker for columns on the north side; George Armstrong Wauchope's booklet "Burning of the University of Missouri, January 9, 1892, Descriptive Sketch," Columbia, MO: E. W. Stephens, 1895; newspaper clippings from Columbia Missourian, May 6, 1977, pg. 5F; Columbia Tribune, Feb. 7, 1974; article from University of Missouri-Columbia Bulletin 70 (Aug. 1, 1969); and articles from the Columbia Tribune, Feb. 7, 1974, April 23, 1989, and June 11, 1992. IAS files also contain pamphlet "A Walking Tour of Francis Quadrangle," from the University; and a booklet, William Peden's "The Jefferson Monument at the University of Missouri.

Save Outdoor Sculpture, Missouri survey, 1994.

Columbia Tribune, April 23, 1989.

The information provided about this artwork was compiled as part of the Smithsonian American Art Museum's Inventories of American Painting and Sculpture database, designed to provide descriptive and location information on artworks by American artists in public and private collections worldwide.

Inventories of American Painting and Sculpture, Smithsonian American Art Museum, P.O. Box 37012, MRC 970, Washington, D.C. 20013-7012

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