The Historic Netsch CampusMain MenuThe Historic Netsch Campus Walking TourThe Historic Netsch Campus Walking TourCampus Plans: From Navy Pier to the University of Illinois Chicago CircleWalter Netsch's Unique Campus DesignChronology of Campus ConstructionHarrison-Halsted NeighborhoodBlock "I" Window DesignHarrison and HalstedHistoric ArtifactsThe Circle ForumThe Site of Turner GateThe Architecture and Art buildingSecond-Story WalkwaysHenry Hall and Jefferson HallUniversity HallBehavioral Sciences buildingStevenson HallLincoln, Douglass, and Grant HallsRichard J. Daley LibraryScience and Engineering OfficesTaft, Burnham, and Addams HallsScience and Engineering LaboratoriesScience and Engineering SouthBlue Island CorridorMemorial GroveGreen Architecture at UICLeanna Barcelonab78d4da7f92616ae537951578811de1af3a3c396
12020-10-27T10:53:18-05:00The Circle Forum3plain2020-11-02T11:03:54-06:00
At the heart of the University of Illinois Chicago Circle stood a two-story classical amphitheater known as Circle Forum. This was the center of campus life, home to concerts, performances, and even student protests. Those traveling from one building to another passed through the area. A level higher, the roofs of the surrounding buildings formed a vast plaza called the Great Court, punctuated by seating areas known as exedrae. Walkways at the second floor level tied this central structure to all the surrounding campus buildings.
Only photographs remain to convey the remarkable architecture that once stood here. Circle Forum, the Great Court, and the walkways were all demolished in the mid 1990s after gradually falling into disuse and disrepair. Lack of climate control, difficulty of maintenance, especially in winter, and public safety were all factors that contributed to the university’s decision to abandon those elements of the original Netsch design.
Chicago architect Daniel P. Coffey was responsible for the redesign of the area as it appears today.
