Duke University Archives

Building Duke

Photos of Campus Construction, 1925-1931


About the pictures: while the campuses were being built, the contractor hired photographers to visit the site monthly and make a photographic record. The Archives holds over five hundred of what were titled "Duke University Progress Pictures." Many are mounted on linen, with the date and other information typed on the mount. Click on the small images for enlargements.

Starting construction on East, Fall, 1925. The structure in the background is the Trinity College Library, given by James B. Duke in 1905. It, and two other buildings in the center of the campus, would be dismantled. The materials from the library were used to build a library at Kittrell College, in Kittrell, N.C.

Adding to the old campus. This shows the foundation for the present Carr Building. In the background are the Aycock Residence Hall and the West Duke Building, both built in 1911. A desire to blend the new buildings on East in with the existing ones was a factor in the choice of architectural style. The massing is similar in the old and the new.

The East Campus Library Georgian architecture was chosen for what would become the Woman's College of Duke University. The level, urban site of the school's original Durham campus contrasted strongly with the rolling terrain of new properties about a mile distant that would house the Gothic-style men's campus.

Setting the cornerstone, June 5, 1928. James B. Duke's only child, Doris, sets the cornerstone of the University in the West Union Building as chief engineer A. C Lee (left) and Duke Endowment chair G. G. Allen (right) look on. Doris was 15 years old at the time. An article about the ceremony is available.

Bringing in the stone. The University was fortunate to be able to use stone from a quarry in nearby Hillsborough. A spur on to the site was built off the area's main rail line. In this dramatic image, the top of the tower on Kilgo Quadrangle is just visible at the far right.

The School of Medicine. Notice the nicely dressed women at the far left. The construction site was a popular place to visit on Sundays. Some of the construction laborers lived on-site with their families; contemporary accounts in the student newspaper tell of their lives.

The Main Quad, West, on May 3, 1930. The Library and Law School are well along, as is the School of Medicine in the background. The Chemistry Building would be located between Law and Medicine once there was no further need for the tracks. This image was taken from the roof of what is now Craven Quadrangle. The campus opened in late September.

The Law School, Library tower, Union tower and the dormitories beyond, taken from the School of Medicine building. The buildings of Duke's West Campus embody a history of the Gothic style of architecture. The residential quadrangles are of an early and somewhat unadorned design, while the buildings in the academic quadrangles show influences of the more elaborate late French and Italian styles.

The Chapel. In addition to the "Progress Pictures," the Archives has several private collections of construction photos. Several of the men who worked on the Chapel took snapshots. These provide a worker's eye view of the construction of a Gothic-style building, and include close-up details.

West campus dormitories, from what is now Towerview Road. This image shows the corner of the present Crowell Quad, across from the tennis courts.

The oldest known aerial image of the West Campus, taken about 1931. The Chapel's foundations are in place.

Commencement procession, 1931. Commencement was held in Page Auditorium, to the left of the Chapel. The Chapel was completed in 1932 at a cost of over $2 million. The total bill for the construction of both campuses? $21,254,833.69.

Many of the scans are the work of John M. Hardy, of the Class of 1998. He undertook the work as part of a class project, and provided a cd full of images to the Archives. Thanks, John.

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© Duke University, 2000     |      Updated Wednesday, October 25, 2000 by Thomas F. Harkins   |   Top of page