Old Main

Duane's take

Here's my telling of what the official marker has to say about Old Main, standing there on the Baylor campus in Waco, McLennan County. Now, every university worth its salt has a building that holds the whole story together — one structure that's been there through the good years and the hard ones, through fire and wind and the long debates about whether to tear it all down and start fresh. At Baylor, that building is Old Main.

It was completed in 1887, the first building to go up on the Baylor campus after the University made its move from Independence, over in Washington County. And right from the start, Old Main had to carry more than its share of the load. Baylor's resources were limited in those early years, so this one building — this single structure — served as the primary location for both classes and offices.

Not just for a little while. For several years. But that's not even half of what was happening inside those walls.

Old Main also served as headquarters for a number of campus religious organizations. It housed Baylor's three-thousand-volume library. It held the University's radio studio and tower.

All of that — every last bit of it — contained within a building that counted seventeen classrooms and twenty-four offices. That's not just a building. That's a small city doing the work of a whole university.

Architect William Larmour designed the thing, and he did not design it plain. Old Main shows elements of both the Italianate and Gothic architectural styles — limestone window hoods and string courses set against red brick construction, and pyramidal spires rising at the corners and the center of the main façade. Generations of students have looked up at those spires and known exactly where they were.

Then came May 11, 1953. A tornado tore through downtown Waco and destroyed much of it — and Old Main was among the campus structures damaged that day. The spires, those landmarks that had stood since 1887, were weakened.

Concerns for public safety led to their removal later that year. And just like that, the skyline that generations had known was changed. That might have been the beginning of the end for Old Main.

In the 1960s, University officials faced the question straight on: demolish the historic structure, or commit to extensive restoration. That is the kind of decision that can go either way, and plenty of old buildings have lost that argument. Then, in November of 1969, a fire caused minor damage to the building's interior.

You might think that would tip the scales toward tearing it down. But the decision to save the building had already been made — and it came, as the marker puts it, at an opportune time. Full restoration followed, and in 1976, there was a rededication ceremony.

Old Main was back. Today, it stands as a constant link to Baylor tradition — through years of change, through tornado and fire and the debates of decades. William Larmour built something that outlasted the arguments about whether it deserved to last.

And those pyramidal spires, restored to their place on the façade, are still making themselves known on the Waco skyline. Some buildings just refuse to be a footnote.

What the marker says

Old Main, completed in 1887, was the first building constructed on the Baylor campus after the University's move from Independence, Washington County. Because of Baylor's limited resources, the building served as the primary location for both classes and offices for several years. The building also served as headquarters for a number of campus religious organizations, housed Baylor's 3,000-volume library, and served as the location of the University's radio studio and tower. All of these facilities were contained in a structure that held 17 classrooms and 24 offices and functioned as the heart of the University. Old Main was one of several campus structures damaged during the tornado that destroyed much of downtown Waco on May 11, 1953. Concerns for public safety stemming from the weakening of the spires on both Old Main and Burleson Hall led to the removal of the spires later that year. During the 1960s University officials faced the decision to demolish the historic structure or complete extensive restoration. The decision to save the building came at an opportune time, after a november 1969 fire caused minor damage to the building's interior. Full restoration of the building and a rededication ceremony came in 1976. Architect William Larmour designed this prominent building, which exhibits elements of the Italianate and Gothic architectural styles. Limestone window hoods and string courses contrast with the red brick construction, and the pyramidal spires at the corners and the center of the main fa��ade have made the building a landmark for generations. Today, Old Main remains as a constant link to Baylor tradition through years of change.