Social Sciences Hall was indisputably the most elegant building ever constructed on the city campus at the time of its completion in 1919. The site was selected for a monumental structure by Shepley, Rutan and Coolidge in their 1914 plan for the city campus because of its proximity to the downtown business area, and its prominent location at 12th and R street, the proposed new entrance to the campus. The architects called for a building that surpassed the usual modest structures afforded by the University, and the Regents and Chancellor Avery complied.
Like all of the Coolidge & Hodgdon structures on the city campus, the exterior of Social Sciences Hall is red brick and Bedford limestone. The west facade, with its long row of Ionic columns, presents a sophisticated academic face to passers by. The south facade, although considerably smaller, carries this theme to the downtown facing side of the building. Other exterior features, such as the single, multi-paned windows, also conform to the general plans laid out by Coolidge & Hodgdon. Like Bessey Hall, a cartouche adorns the parapet over the south and west entrances; the interior includes a broad diagonal staircase with skylights. A large assembly room is incorporated into the plan.
Construction commenced on Social Sciences Hall in 1917, and was only partially completed when, in 1918, it was appropriated for use by the Student Army Training Corps during the brief World War I era. By January 1919 the war was over and normal campus life resumed.
During the second post WWII enrollment boom in the 1960s, Social Sciences Hall was given over entirely to the College of Business Administration. It underwent a complete renovation in the 1990s when an addition was added to the east side of the original building.
Source Information:
Archives and Special Collections, UNL Libraries
