Dauer Hall (Florida Union) | |
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| Location | Gainesville, Florida |
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| Coordinates | 29°38′59″N82°20′42″W / 29.64972°N 82.34500°W /29.64972; -82.34500 |
| Built | 1936 |
| Architect | Rudolph Weaver |
| Architectural style | Late Gothic Revival |
Dauer Hall is a historic building on the campus of theUniversity of Florida inGainesville, Florida, in theUnited States.
Dauer Hall is acontributing property in theUniversity of Florida Campus Historic District which was added to theNational Register of Historic Places on April 20, 1989.
Designed byRudolph Weaver in theCollegiate Gothicarchitectural style, the building was built in 1936. Because theGreat Depression caused a shortage of funds, the building took several years to construct, and its distinctivestained glass windows on the eastfacade were not placed until 1938.[1]William Jennings Bryan was one fundraiser for the construction of the hall.[2]
Originally the site of thestudent union, the building was called theFlorida Union. The building housed abookstore, smalllibrary,hotel,soda fountain, banquet hall andballroom (in what later became the Keene Faculty Center, see below),chapel,game room, "sundry ship," andstudent organization offices[2][3] (including those of not-yet independentstudent newspaper, theFlorida Alligator, whose officers were in thebasement).[4] Later part of the second floor was used by the Religion Department and theYMCA. The Florida Union, moved to the new building on Museum Road (later renamed theJ. Wayne Reitz Union) when that building was completed in 1967.[2]
The building was then given to theCollege of Liberal Arts and Sciences to be used forclassrooms and faculty office space, and was renamed theArts and Sciences Building.[2][5] The building adopted its current name in 1975 in honor ofManning J. Dauer, the longtime chairman of thepolitical science department.[1][6]
TheKeene Faculty Center located in the western wing of Dauer Hall is a multipurpose room used mainly byCollege of Liberal Arts and Sciences faculty.
The high-ceilinged room comprises 1,600 square feet (150 m2) and haswoodpanelling andflooring as well as archedwindows. The main floor consists of a commons room (measuring 32 by 54 feet), a storage room, and a smallkitchen. The commons room hascouches, easy chairs, 20trestle table, and 75 dining chairs. Open to faculty and guests weekdays from 9 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. as acoffee, reading, and discussion room, it can be reserved for use in late afternoons, evenings, and on weekends, for other activities, such asdinners (with seating for up to 50),receptions,concerts,lectures, conferences, and meetings.
Thegallery on the second floor overlooks the main floor and is used for smaller functions. It can accommodate up to 14 people at aluncheon.
The Keene Faculty Center was built in the late 1930s as theBanquet Hall, and it was the upper part of the two-story Food Services building, connected to Florida Union (Dauer Hall) on the east, and the University Dining Hall on the west. (The University Dining Hall, UF's originaldining hall, was designed byWilliam Augustus Edwards and was built in 1912. It was also known as "the Commons" and was later named Johnson Hall. It was destroyed in a fire in 1987 and the Academic Advising Center now occupies the site).
The Banquet Hall opened in 1936 or 1937 and includedchandeliers left over from the construction ofUniversity Auditorium. Originally the basement part of the room was used as a "short-ordercafé" and bookstore and the upper portion was used forbanquets.
DuringWorld War II,Armyofficer trainees that lived inUF residence halls used the room as amess hall. After the war, the hall was designated part of the Florida Union and became known as theFlorida Union Social Room. Most "large University dinner events" shifted toThe Hub after that building was completed in 1950, but the Union Social Room was still use for banquets occasionally, such as for the annual Caribbean Conference.
In the 1950s and 1960s, the room was used as a ballroom and for student activities, including informationfairs, student elections, andpep rallies. William E. Rion, an early director of the Florida Union, said that "smaller campus dances" were held almost every Friday night, with "street dances right outside for the larger crowds."Bands would play music from the balcony down to guests below. A series of international dinners was also held in the room.
After the Florida Union moved to Museum Road in 1967 (where it remains as the J. Wayne Reitz Union), Dauer Hall was given to the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences to alleviate a critical shortage of classroom and office space, and from 1970 to 1997, Social Room was alanguage lab with close to 50 listening stations.[1][2]
The Social Room wasrestored to its early 20th-century appearance in a $500,000 project funded by Kenneth and Janet Keene, for whom the room was renamed. The restored room was dedicated on November 12, 1998.[3][4][dead link]