This year is very special for the University of Illinois because we are celebrating the sesquicentennial, or 150 year anniversary of our University. The day after Uggles is found, we have been revealing the location, along with some historical information about the place where she was hidden. Whether the building is new or old, each building on campus has a unique history! If you’ve missed some of the posts, you can read more below! All of our posts in order create a historical walking tour of campus, so celebrate the sesquicentennial and the spring weather with a stroll around all of Uggles’s hiding spots!
Week 1 (October 31, 2016) – Alma
Uggles at Alma Mater Statue
Congratulations to our first winner, Sandy, who found Uggles hiding at the Alma Mater statue! Alma was unveiled in June 1929 and was originally placed directly behind Foellinger Auditorium. On August 22, 1962, the Alumni Association moved the sculpture to its present location in front of Altgeld Hall.
Week 2 (November 7, 2016) – Foellinger Auditorium
Uggles at Foellinger
Congratulations to this week’s winner, Christopher, who found Uggles hiding at Foellinger Auditorium. Built in 1907, Foellinger has had many famous faces speak and perform within. Among these include: John Phillip Sousa, Jane Addams, Robert Frost, Duke Ellington, Eleanor Roosevelt, Ravi Shankar, R. Buckminster Fuller, Maya Angelou, and Bill Gates.
Week 3 (November 14, 2016) – Grange Grove
Uggles at Grange Grove
Congratulations to this week’s winner, Leonel, who found Uggles hiding at Grange Grove, which debuted in 2015.
Grange Grove has transformed what was previously Lot 36, into a free, high-energy tailgating area, which students and fans enjoy!
Week 4 (November 28, 2016) – Lincoln Hall
Uggles at Lincoln Hall
Congratulations to this week’s winner, Anih, who found Uggles hiding by the Lincoln Bust in Lincoln Hall.
Lincoln Hall opened in 1911 and has “held theater productions, history museums, libraries, and offices for faculty and staff.”
The bust of Lincoln was added in 1928 and has been there ever since, with the exception of one day in 1979 “when thieves stole the bust and mounted it on a tree stump at a local golf course.”
Week 5 (December 5, 2016) – Illini Union Bookstore
Uggles at the Illini Union Bookstore
Congratulations to this week’s winner, Olivia, who found Uggles hiding inside the Illini Union Bookstore. Named as such in 1940, the bookstore is a “continuation of a book exchange organized in the early 1920s by students at the university.” The Illini Union Bookstore is “one of the largest independent college bookstores in the country.”
Week 6 (February 20, 2017) – CRCE
Uggles at CRCE
Congratulations to this week’s winner, Jessica, who found Uggles hiding inside the Campus Recreation Center East (CRCE). Although it originally opened in 1988, CRCE as we know it today officially opened in March 2005. Along with the usual basketball courts and gyms, CRCE also has an indoor waterslide and a waterfall!
Week 7 (February 27, 2016) – Main Library
Uggles at the Main Library Information Desk
Congratulations to this week’s winner who found Uggles hiding in the Main Library! The Main Library was founded in 1867 and actually pre-dates the University, as the founders wanted students and staff to have access to books and materials “from the day they arrived on campus.” The Library officially opened in 1868, and eventually moved to the building we know it as in 1926.
Week 8 (March 6, 2017) – Funk ACES Library
Uggles at Funk ACES
Congratulations to this week’s winner, Kelsey, who found Uggles hiding outside the Funk ACES library! It was built and dedicated in 2001, and “one of the study rooms on the fourth floor is a gift from the College of Agriculture Class of 1941, honoring their 10 classmates who died in the Second World War.”
Week 9 (March 14, 2017) – English Building
Uggles at the English Building
Congratulations to this week’s winner, Logan, who found Uggles hiding outside of the English Building. Built in 1905, the English Building has quite the history. Originally serving as a women’s dormitory with a gymnasium and pool, it eventually became the home economics department and was renamed Bevier Hall in 1947. Finally becoming the English Building in 1956, there are many rumors surrounding the supposed haunting of this building.
Week 10 (March 27, 2017) – Illini Union
Uggles at Illini Union
Congratulations to this week’s winner, Hector, who found Uggles hiding outside the Illini Union, which opened on February 8th, 1941 and celebrated its 75th Anniversary last year! “The building was designed in the shape of an ‘I’ to honor the university,” and was dedicated by Eleanor Roosevelt in 1942.
Week 11 (April 3, 2017) – Undergraduate Library
Uggles at the Undergraduate Library
Congratulations to this week’s winner, Laura, who found Uggles hiding in the Undergrad Library’s courtyard! The UGL was dedicated in November 1969, and the inscription around the top of the courtyard was a gift from the class of 1916. The reason that the UGL was built underground was to avoid casting shade on the Morrow Plots. It was also to allow for open space behind Foellinger Auditorium, an important part of the Campus Master Plan at that time.
Week 12 (April 10, 2017) – University Gateway
Uggles at the University Gateway
Congratulations to this week’s winner, Ana Michaela, who found Uggles hiding at the Gateway on Lincoln and Green! As the easternmost entrance, it welcomes Urbana residents to come visit this bustling area of campus town. Further down on Green Street there are many different restaurants and shops that make it the social hub of our campus.
Week 13 (April 17, 2017) – Grainger Engineering Library
Uggles hiding with Grainger Bob
Congratulations to this week’s winner who found Uggles hiding outside of Grainger Engineering Library. Dedicated in 1994, Grainger is the largest engineering library in the country.
The ribbon cutting ceremony was performed on a touch-screen computer and when the ribbon was “cut”, fireworks appeared on the screen. In 1994, this was cutting-edge technology!
Uggles was hiding with the statue outside of Grainger, known as “Grainger Bob.”
Week 14 (April 24, 2017) – Morrow Plots
Uggles at the Morrow Plots
Congratulations to this week’s winner, Kennedy, who found Uggles hiding in the Morrow Plots! Founded in 1876, the Morrow Plots are the “oldest continually used experimental agricultural fields in the U.S. and the second oldest in the world.”
Week 15 (May 1, 2017) – Eternal Flame
Uggles at the Eternal Flame
Congratulations to this week’s winner, Jose, who found Uggles hiding at the Eternal Flame, which was a gift from the class of 1912. There is a campus myth that states, “A lover’s kiss will bring eternal bliss,” signifying that if you kiss your lover under the flame, your relationship will last forever. No matter the legend, the Eternal Flame is a great place to sit and enjoy the nice weather on the Quad!
Grand Prize
Ana Michaela, the winner of our Kindle Fire Grand Prize raffle
Congratulations to the winner of our Grand Prize raffle Ana Michaela, who won a Kindle Fire!
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