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Campus Images:

1911-1973

 

Campus Aerials

Child Saving Institute, c. 1973

From the McGoogan Health Sciences Library Special Collections and Archives 

Child Saving Institute

Built 1911, demolished 2006


Serving as an orphanage from 1911-1972, the Child Saving Institute was a brick structure located at 691 South 42nd Street. Physicians and health professional students provided services and care at the facility. UNMC purchased the building in 1972 for later use as administrative offices. After renovations, it also housed the College of Pharmacy and later UNMC’s Computing Services. The building was demolished in 2006 for construction of the Michael F. Sorrell Center for Health Science Education.

 

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North Laboratory, 1922

From the McGoogan Health Sciences Library Special Collections and Archives

North Laboratory

Built 1913  
Named Poynter Hall in 1970


Completed in 1913, the first building on campus was originally named the North Laboratory. The building was renamed Poynter Hall in 1970 in memory of the late Charles W. M. Poynter, MD, the longest serving dean of the College of Medicine from 1929 through 1946.
 
In 2006, a $7 million dollar renovation of the six-story facility was undertaken. Poynter Hall now serves as the primary training site for UNMC’s third-year medical students and houses operations for the Nebraska Anatomical Board.

 

 

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University Hospital 

Unit 1, built 1917
Unit 2, built 1927
Units 3 and 4, built 1968


After completion of the new educational facility known as the North Laboratory in 1913, Irving Cutter, MD, dean of the University of Nebraska Medical College, returned to the Legislature in 1915 to request additional funds to build a hospital. Cutter received $150,000 in appropriations and with the continued work of architect John Latenser & Sons, University Hospital opened in 1917. The Neo-Georgian style building contained 130 beds in six wards, operating rooms, a nursery, and a library. The long, narrow wings were designed to provide maximum light and ventilation. University Hospital acted as a charity hospital and was not permitted to charge patients for its services. Today, University Hospital is the heart of a sprawling campus, the iconic façade a cornerstone of campus architecture.

 

 

 

 

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South Laboratory, 1930

From the McGoogan Health Sciences Library Special Collections and Archives

South Laboratory

Built 1919
Addition, built 1947
Named Bennett Hall in 1995


Originally called the South Laboratory, Bennett Hall was built in 1919. The building has seven levels and contains 64,494 square feet of space. An addition was made to the building in 1947 with a major renovation in 1962. An $8.9 million renovation in 2008 brought togetherfor the first time ever in one locationthe 10 existing educational programs that comprised the College of Allied Health Professions on Levels 3 through 6. The Department of Anesthesiology administrative and faculty offices remained on Level 2. The name of the building was changed to South Hall in 1990 and later to Bennett Hall in 1995 in honor of the late A. Lawrence Bennett, MD, former chair of the UNMC physiology department. Dr. Bennett worked in the building throughout his entire 39-year career.

 

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Conkling Hall, c. 1923

From the McGoogan Health Sciences Library Special Collections and Archives

Conkling Hall

Built 1923, demolished 1996

Dean Irving Cutter, MD, knew the University of Nebraska College of Medicine needed a nursing program, so he recruited Charlotte Burgess in 1917 to establish the program. Initially, nursing students resided on campus in “the barracks,” a two-story wooden building. This structure burned down in the winter of 1920. Fortunately, no lives were lost in the fire. A new $70,000 brick building, Conkling Hall, was erected in 1923. It was named in honor of Jettur Conkling, MD, and his wife, who were donors to the School of Nursing. In addition to housing, the hall contained classrooms, reading and sewing rooms, kitchen and laundry facilities, a gym, and a plush reception room. Conkling Hall was demolished in 1996 for construction of the Lied Transplant Center, which opened in 1999.

 

 

 

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Children's Memorial Hospital, North Facade

From the McGoogan Health Sciences Library Special Collections and Archives

Children’s Memorial Hospital

Built 1946, demolished 2013
Named Swanson Hall in 1982


Founded in 1948 by Charles W. M. Poynter, dean of the University of Nebraska College of Medicine, and Henry Doorly, publisher of the Omaha World-Herald, the hospital served children and families regardless of their ability to pay for treatment. The building cost $835,000 to build and was funded by a community-wide penny drive and contributions from 30,000 donors in Nebraska and Iowa. Six months into operations a polio epidemic hit Omaha and, by November 1948, the hospital housed nearly 150 patients with the disease. Building additions in 1960 and 1962 expanded treatment capacity. Children’s Memorial Hospital vacated the building in 1981. It was renamed the Carl and Caroline Swanson Hall in 1982 and housed the Swanson Center for Nutrition, university offices, and laboratories. Swanson Hall was demolished in 2013 for construction of the Fred and Pamela Buffett Cancer Center.

 

 

 

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Nebraska Psychiatric Institute, c. 1955

From the McGoogan Health Sciences Library Special Collections and Archives

Nebraska Psychiatric Institute

Built 1955, demolished 2001


Established in 1948, the Nebraska Psychiatric Institute (NPI) was established as a joint effort with the State Board of Control for professional training, research, and mental health treatment. NPI received grants for groundbreaking studies on Closed-Circuit Television (CCTV) and care of patients with intellectual disabilities. By 1958, the American Psychiatric Association’s Mental Hospital Service Award recognized NPI as a national leader in mental health care. In 1968, a large portion of Nebraska’s mental health program was transferred to the Nebraska regional centers for mental health to allow NPI staff to focus on research and training. NPI featured facilities for day therapy and research laboratories. UNMC fully absorbed NPI’s patient care services by 1985. The building housed the University Geriatric Center until it was demolished for construction of the Durham Research Towers in 2001.

 

 

 

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Clarkson Tower

Built 1955


Located at the northwest corner of 42nd and Dewey Streets, Clarkson Tower was originally Clarkson Memorial Hospital. Constructed in 1955 by Leo A. Daly, and costing $5 million, Clarkson Tower became part of the UNMC campus with a merger of clinical services in March 1997 creating the Nebraska Health System. Today, this is known as Nebraska Medicine.

 

 

 

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Kiewit Tower

From the University of Nebraska Medical Center, Department of Strategic Communications

Kiewit Tower

Built 1960  

Built as the Clarkson School of Nursing in 1960 at a cost of $2.5 million, Kiewit Tower was dedicated as the Evelyn and Peter Kiewit Hall of the Bishop Clarkson Memorial Hospital School of Nursing. Peter Kiewit served as president of the board of trustees of Clarkson Hospital from 1966-1979, and Mr. and Mrs. Kiewit were the primary benefactors for the building, giving $1.1 million. Today, it houses several Nebraska Medicine administration services including human resources.

 

 

 

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The Eppley Institute for Research in Cancer and Allied Diseases, 1973

From the McGoogan Health Sciences Library Special Collections and Archives

The Eppley Institute for Research in Cancer and Allied Diseases, with the Eppley Hall of Science visible on the left side of the photograph, 1973
 

 

Eppley Cancer Institute

Built 1960

 

Eppley Institute for Research in Cancer & Allied Diseases

Built 1973


The Eppley Cancer Institute has been a leader in the fight against cancer for over 40 years, offering patients the most current and innovative treatment options available. Cancer Institute physicians and scientists work together to quickly translate cutting-edge research into state-of-the-art care for patients.
 
The Eppley Institute is undergoing a $10.7 million renovation that will replace deteriorating systems and space in the nearly 50-year-old building. The renovation will substantially improve practically every facet of the building and transform the environment.  

 

 

 

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College of Dentistry, c. 2017

Courtesy of the UNMC College of Dentistry, photographer Peggy Cain

College of Dentistry, Lincoln

Built 1967
Remodeled in 2010 and 2019  


Built at a cost of $4.4 million and encompassing 101,000 square feet, the College of Dentistry opened at 40th and Holdrege Streets on the East Campus of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. In 1979, the college moved under the administrative umbrella of UNMC but remained located on a separate campus. In 2010, the building was renovated at a cost of $8.5 million to enclose the original entrance for increased accessibility for patients, additional offices, upgrades to all building systems, improved patient reception and waiting areas, and renovated teaching clinics and class laboratories. In 2019, further renovations included updated classrooms, a 64-station clinical and virtual simulation lab, a renovated anatomy lab, a 15-seat digital design studio with the latest CAD/CAM technology, and an equipment studio with milling machines and 3D printers to design dentures and restorations.  

 

 

 

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Basic Sciences Building, 1969

Basic Sciences Building viewed from across 42nd Street, January 25, 1969

From the McGoogan Health Sciences Library Special Collections and Archives

 

Basic Sciences Building

Built 1969
Named Wittson Hall in 1972

Wittson Hall was dedicated in 1969 as the Basic Sciences Building. Cecil Wittson, dean of the College of Medicine, began planning the building in 1965. The Basic Sciences Building was renamed in honor of Cecil Wittson, MD, in 1972. Today, the building is home to the Leon S. McGoogan Health Sciences Library, the Gross Anatomy lab, and campus administrative offices.

 

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Library of Medicine atop the Basic Sciences Building, 1970-1972

From the McGoogan Health Sciences Library Special Collections and Archives

The Library of Medicine

Built 1970
Renamed The Leon S. McGoogan Health Sciences Library in 2020


The McGoogan Library was founded in 1881 as part of the Omaha Medical College. After numerous locations, the library’s permanent home was created in 1970 with construction of a three-story addition above the Medical Center's Basic Sciences Building. The library was named in 1980 in honor of Leon S. McGoogan, MD, a longtime UNMC obstetrician and gynecologist. Dr. McGoogan was honored for his private gifts to the library and for his fundraising efforts among College of Medicine alumni. Following an extensive renovation in 2020, the library was renamed the Leon S. McGoogan Health Sciences Library to better reflect its mission of service to all of UNMC’s colleges, institutes, faculty, staff, and students.

 

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