William J. Samford Hall
Information
Location	Auburn, Alabama
Status	Complete
Constructed	1888
Height
Antenna/Spire	170 feet
Roof	154 feet[1]
Floor count	4
Floor area	49,376 ft²
Companies
Architect	Bruce and Morgan
Contractor	James Smith
Owner	Auburn University

William J. Samford Hall is a structure on the campus of Auburn University in Auburn, Alabama. It is an icon of Auburn University and houses the school's administration. The building is named for William J. Samford, the Governor of Alabama from 1900 to 1901. Samford Hall is the tallest building in Auburn, Alabama.^[1] Download high resolution version (1000x1504, 264 KB)Auburn Universitys Samford Hall; taken 09/05/2004 by J. Glover (AUtiger) File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Nickname: The Loveliest Village on the Plains Location in Lee County, Alabama Coordinates: Country United States State Alabama County Lee County, Alabama  - Mayor Bill Ham, Jr. ... Official language(s) English Capital Montgomery Largest city Birmingham Area  Ranked 30th  - Total 52,419 sq mi (135,765 km²)  - Width 190 miles (306 km)  - Length 330 miles (531 km)  - % water 3. ... A square foot is by definition the area enclosed by a square with sides each 1 foot long. ... Auburn University (AU or Auburn) is a state university located in Auburn, Alabama, in the United States. ... Auburn University (AU or Auburn) is a state university located in Auburn, Alabama, in the United States. ... Nickname: The Loveliest Village on the Plains Location in Lee County, Alabama Coordinates: Country United States State Alabama County Lee County, Alabama  - Mayor Bill Ham, Jr. ... Official language(s) English Capital Montgomery Largest city Birmingham Area  Ranked 30th  - Total 52,419 sq mi (135,765 km²)  - Width 190 miles (306 km)  - Length 330 miles (531 km)  - % water 3. ... Auburn University (AU or Auburn) is a state university located in Auburn, Alabama, in the United States. ... William James Samford (September 16, 1844–June 11, 1901) was an American Democratic politician who was the Governor of Alabama from 1900 to 1901. ... The following is a list of the territorial and state governors of Alabama. ... Nickname: The Loveliest Village on the Plains Location in Lee County, Alabama Coordinates: Country United States State Alabama County Lee County, Alabama  - Mayor Bill Ham, Jr. ...

History

When Auburn University (as East Alabama Male College) opened in 1859, classes were held in a structure named "Old Main" on the current site of Samford Hall. On June 24, 1887, Old Main was destroyed by fire. The following year, Samford Hall (then simply known as the "Main Building") was constructed, using bricks salvaged from the ruins of Old Main. The design of Samford Hall roughly mirrored that of Old Main, except that Samford Hall had two main entrances instead of Old Main's one, and on Samford one of the two flanking towers was considerably taller and was constructed to contain a clock.^[2] In 1889, a clockworks and bell were added to the taller tower. ^[3] In mechanical engineering, a clockwork is either a lightweight mechanical linkage, especially one involving multiple axles, or a complete mechanical device whose functioning relies on internal clockwork (in the preceding sense), especially where muscular effort is the sole source of operating power. ... Look up bell, Bell in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ...

Through the late 19th century, Samford Hall was the college's main classroom building and contained the library. When the school formed a basketball team, the attic of Samford Hall was converted into a court. In May of 1929, the building was officially named for William J. Samford.^[4] In 1941, the tower's mechanical clock was converted to run on electricity, and in 1977, a carillon was added. Samford Hall underwent major renovations in 1971, and the original clockworks were replaced in 1995.^[5] Today, Samford Hall houses the school's administration, accounting, planning, and public relations offices.^[6] Sara Giauro shoots a three-point shot, FIBA Europe Cup for Women Finals 2005. ... William James Samford (September 16, 1844–June 11, 1901) was an American Democratic politician who was the Governor of Alabama from 1900 to 1901. ... The Netherlands Carillon in Arlington, Virginia, USA. A carillon is a musical instrument composed of at least 23 cup-shaped bells played from a baton keyboard using fists and feet (such an instrument with fewer than this number of bells is known as a chime). ...

Clock tower

Samford Hall's clock tower is the most recognised part of the building. The original clockworks were built by the Seth Thomas Clock Company of Thomaston, Connecticut. These clockworks were replaced in 1995 by a clock made by the Verden Company of Cincinnati, Ohio.^[5] As of 2007, the Samford Hall carillon plays the Westminster Chimes on the quarter-hour, and plays the Auburn University fight song, "War Eagle" each evening at 5 o'clock.^[3] Thomaston is a town in Litchfield County, Connecticut, United States. ... Nickname: The Queen City Location in Hamilton County, Ohio, USA Coordinates: Country United States State Ohio County Hamilton Founded 1788 Incorporated 1802 (village) - 1819 (city) Government type Strong mayor  - Mayor Mark L. Mallory (D) Area    - City  79. ... The Westminster Quarters is the most common name for a melody used by a set of clock bells to strike the hour. ... The War Eagle serves as a symbol of Auburn University, a living embodiment of the school battle cry of War Eagle. ...

"Holiday Tree" naming controversy

Since 2000, an evergreen tree in front of Samford Hall has been the site of the school's Christmas tree lighting ceremony. The decision to officially refer to the tree a "Holiday Tree" (rather than a "Christmas Tree") resulted in controversy in 2005 when commentators on townhall.com and World Net Daily criticized Auburn University's choice of names as an example of political correctness gone amok. As a compromise, the ceremony was in subsequent years renamed the "Holiday Celebration featuring the Lighting of the Christmas Tree." ^[7] A Christmas tree from 1900. ... Townhall. ... World Net Daily, also known as WND, is a conservative online news site. ... Political correctness is the alteration of language to redress real or alleged injustices and discrimination or to avoid offense. ...

External links

• Emporis listing
• Webcam view from Samford Hall

Notes

1. ^ ^{a b} Amy Weaver, "What time is it?", Opelika-Auburn News, March 11, 2007.
2. ^ Mickey Logue and Jack Simms, Auburn, A Pictorial History of the Lovliest Village (Auburn: s.n., 1996), Mollie Hollifield, Auburn: Lovliest Village of the Plain (S.l.: s.n., 1955)
3. ^ ^{a b} Brian Dennig, Samford Hall Clock Tower and Samford Carillon, accessed March 11, 2007.
4. ^ Auburn University Libraries, History of Samford Hall, accessed March 11, 2007.
5. ^ ^{a b} Roy Summerford, Auburn University's "Big Sam" Gets His Hands Back, Auburn University News Release, April 27, 1995, accessed March 11, 2007.
6. ^ Auburn University Libraries, Samford Hall, accessed March 11, 2007.
7. ^ Hiram Hover, "The War on the War on Xmas Goes to College", Hiram Hover, December 6, 2005, accessed March 11, 2007