Murkland Hall, the stately red brick building that houses the UNH Liberal Arts Program is at the beginning of a 14 month, 8.5 million dollar renovation.
As correspondent Roger Wood reports, the goal of the project will be to restore the ornate interior features of the imposing T-shaped building to their original condition.
THE imposing 1927 MURKLAND HALL IS located in the heart of the Durham campus on Main Street. For a new BUILDING, the ceremonial shovels generally break ground, but for this PROJECT, UNH President Joanne Leitzel TOOK A crowbar to a piece of wood flooring on the stage of Richards Auditorium.
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outside in the courtyard, DURING THE FORMAL CEREMONY, THE RETIRING UNH PRESIDENT spoke of the significance of the building. IT�S named in honor of Charles Murkland, President of the New Hampshire College of Agriculture and Mechanic arts, predecessor to the University.
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"Murkland Hall was one of the early buildings on the Durham campus. It plays a critical role in our Liberal Arts program, and so it is important not just to a college or a piece of the University, but to the entire University."
AND, PRESIDENT LEITZLE NOTED, MURKLAND HALL is also one of a number of campus buildings designed by architect and professor Eric Huddleston, who died in 1977 in Lancaster.
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"Eric Huddleston was the architect that defined this campus. Some of our most beautiful buildings are buildings that he designed, and now this one which is kind of a Queen in our line will be restored to its original beauty, and that will give us all a great deal of joy."
Huddleston DESIGNED and built or remodeled 22 principal buildings on the Durham campus. AND ACCORDING TO David Andrew, professor of art history and the humanities, Huddleston wanted structures that looked like they belonged in New Hampshire.
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"The architect embraced what I will call a hybrid Georgian-Federal style, the one exhibited by Hamilton Smith Hall, the original UNH library, as many of you know, which was erected in 1907."
Murkland HALL HARKENS back to BUILDINGS of the early Republic, with external red brick, column framed entrances, and ornate interior moldings. THOSE MOLDNIGS are even used to adorn a now UNUSED water fountain. They are all features that professor Andrews hopes will be restored.
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"I don't think they're going to do anything with the exterior at all. I don't think that the bricks need to be re-pointed or anything like that. It's mainly interior work, and its got a good steel structural frame, so all that is just fine."
For now, the students and faculty in the Liberal Arts program have been moved�to Nesmith Hall while the carpenters and other tradespeople tackle the challenge of restoring deteriorating woodwork. THE RENOVATION WILL ALSO INCLUDE making the necessary modern improvements for better access by THE disabled. Marilyn Hoskin is dean of the College of Liberal Arts.
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"So moving is probably a good thing, and a good thing very much worth waiting for."
Murkland Hall's restoration also marks the beginning of an ambitious 6 year Keep NH program authorized by the Legislature that will ultimately spend nearly $100 million dollars for renovation of buildings on all the University campuses. For NHPR News, this is Roger Wood at the University of New Hampshire in Durham.
