Gorgas–Manly Historic District
The Gorgas–Manly Historic District is a historic district that includes and eight buildings on the campus of the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. The buildings represent the university campus as it existed from the establishment of the institution through to the late 19th century. Two buildings included in the district, Gorgas House and the Little Round House, are among only seven structures to have survived the burning of the campus by the Union Army, under the command of Brigadier General John T. Croxton, on April 4, 1865. The other survivors were the President's Mansion and the Old [University of Alabama Observatory|Old Observatory], plus a few faculty residences.
Woods Hall was the first building constructed following the American Civil War. The remaining five buildings, Clark, Manly, Garland, Tuomey and Barnard Halls, represent campus construction during the economic recovery that followed the end of the Reconstruction era of [the United States|Reconstruction era].
The construction of Manly, Clark, Garland, and other buildings was financed by the sale of a large portion of of land given by the United States Congress to the University as repayment "for the fiery ruin brought by Federal troops in 1865."
The District
Gorgas House
An example of the Greek Revival style, the Gorgas House was the first building built on the campus of the university. Designed by William Nichols, designer of the original campus and Tuscaloosa's Old Alabama State Capitol, it was completed in 1829, prior to the opening of the campus. The main facade, minus the portico, reflects the continuing influence of the Federal style. Initially used as a guest house for visitors and professors and as a dining hall for students, it was converted to use as a faculty residence in 1847. The house gained its current name from Josiah Gorgas, the eighth president of the University of Alabama. Ill health forced him to resign as president and the trustees allowed the Gorgas family to move into the house, which also contained the campus post office and student hospital. The building was dedicated as a memorial to the family in 1944 by the Alabama legislature, and then became one of the University of Alabama museums now known as the Gorgas House Museum upon the death of the last two surviving Gorgas children in 1953.Little Round House
This small octagonal building with crenelations originally served as the guard house of the university. It was completed in 1860 during the conversion university into a military campus, intended to be a shelter for sentries from inclement weather. As tensions between the North and South escalated, the request for the transition came from the university president of the time, Landon Cabell Garland. Ironically, the Little Round House, despite its military associations, was one of the few structures that remained after Federal troops burned the campus. When the university reopened its doors in 1871, the building was used as a physician's office. A few years later the building was considered for demolition due to its deteriorated condition. It was saved by the university trustees and converted into a records repository. It became known as Jasons Shrine during the 1930s, while being used by the Jasons, a men's honor society. 1990 saw the structure converted into a memorial for all university honor societies.Woods Hall
Woods Hall was the first new building on campus following the Civil War. Constructed from 1867 to 1868 out of salvaged bricks from campus buildings destroyed in the war, the four-story brick structure was built with a Gothic Revival arcade on the ground floor, end facades in the Gothic Revival style with a crenelated roof, and cast iron galleries on the central upper floors. Initially known simply as "the barracks," it was used as a dormitory. It also had a dining hall and classrooms on the ground floor. It remained a dormitory until 1961, when it was converted for use by the Department of Art and Art History.The area between Woods Hall on the one side and Garland, Clark, and Manly on the other side is known as Woods Quad.
Clark Hall
Built in 1884, the Gothic Revival-style Clark Hall was constructed on the site of the old Lyceum, destroyed during the Civil War. Named for Willis G. Clark, a university trustee, Clark Hall was originally designed as an all-purpose building with a library, reading rooms, chapel, and a large public meeting room, which served as "the great public hall of the University." By 1910 the building was beginning to deteriorate, and by the late 1940s the brick walls were near collapse due to the heavy roof. The hall was preserved by the erection of an interior steel frame within the building. The building was restored again in the 1980s.Clark Hall contains the main office space for the College of Arts and Sciences, as well as a dance studio.