McCormick Hall and the Coon Library
From 1959 to 1960, the Law School celebrated its centennial anniversary. Festivities took place throughout the academic year and the dedication of McCormick Hall and the Coon Library served as the grand finale. Located at 350 E. Superior Street, these new buildings enclosed the U-shaped structure formed by Levy Mayer Hall and the Gary Library, creating an integrated quadrangle. This new space represented the beginning of a new phase for the Law School and an expanded vision for its future.
Image: McCormick Hall entrance, unknown date. From the Pritzker Legal Research Center Special Collections, Chicago, IL.
Ritchie’s Vision
McCormick Hall and the Coon Library were the vision of John Ritchie, dean of the Law School from 1956 to 1972. In the years following the construction of Northwestern’s Chicago campus, the school had once again outgrown its facilities and needed more library space, faculty offices, and classrooms than Levy Mayer Hall and the Gary Library could offer. This concern for more classrooms was especially important to Ritchie, who believed that small class sizes were critical to an exceptional legal education. The Law School‘s peer schools shared this philosophy, making this addition a matter of competition, as well.
With these needs in mind, planning for the new buildings was ambitious. Three new classrooms would supply more instruction space and would also allow the Law School the opportunity to host conferences without disrupting classes. Other features included a realistic mock courtroom, a lounge, and offices for faculty, staff, and the school’s law journals. The library would increase its storage capacity to allow the Law School’s 175,000-volume collection to reach 400,000 volumes over time. Student seating areas would expand, and study carrels would make their introduction. All together, these newly constructed buildings would double the Law School’s space on Northwestern’s Chicago campus.
Image: Dean John Ritchie at the groundbreaking ceremony for McCormick Hall and the Coon Library, ca. 1959. From the Pritzker Legal Research Center Special Collections, Chicago, IL.
Funding the New Buildings
The cost of these new buildings totaled $1,500,000. The Law School received $400,000 from the Robert R. McCormick Memorial Trust, and with gratitude for this generous donation the main building took the McCormick name. McCormick had graduated from Northwestern Law before co-founding the firm now known as Kirkland and Ellis. However, he is best known for his role as the longtime publisher of the Chicago Tribune.
Law School alumni were asked to match the McCormick donation. As part of this fundraising effort, the Owen L. Coon Foundation gave $100,000. Coon, for whom the new library was named, was a businessman and philanthropist who had also graduated from Northwestern Law. The Foundation’s gift not only completed the alumni portion of the fundraising campaign, but it pushed the alumni to surpass their goal by $78,000. The remainder of the building costs were provided by the University.
Image: “McCormick Gift to Be Used for New Law Building.” The Reporter, Northwestern University School of Law, number 17, January 1958, page 1.
Laying the Cornerstone
The Cornerstone Ceremony for McCormick Hall took place on May 5, 1959. The event was attended by major figures in the Chicago community, including Mayor Richard J. Daley, Justice John Marshall Harlan, McCormick Trust chairman Stuart Owen, Northwestern University President J. Roscoe Miller, and Governor William J. Stratton. The cornerstone is still visible on the exterior of McCormick Hall today.
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Gallery, left:
First image: Cornerstone, McCormick Hall Cornerstone, May 5, 1959. From the Pritzker Legal Research Center Archives, Chicago, IL.
Second image: Cornerstone Ceremony for McCormick Hall and the Coon Library, May 5, 1959. From the Pritzker Legal Research Center Archives, Chicago, IL.
Image: MacChesney Hall, ca. 1961. From the Pritzker Legal Research Center Rare Books/Special Collections/Archives, Chicago, IL.
A More Modern Law Building
Holabird & Root, the Chicago-based architecture firm selected to design this addition, intended for McCormick and Coon to complement Levy Mayer and Gary in their Gothic style and limestone construction. However, the interiors offered some modern twists. Contrasting with the older buildings’ oak-paneled interiors, the new buildings featured cinderblock walls, asphalt floor tiling, and acoustic ceiling panels.
Technology was a priority in McCormick and Coon’s design. The new library included rooms for typing and photocopying, and new classrooms were outfitted with equipment for audio/visual presentations. However, possibly the most anticipated upgrade was the installation of air conditioning both in the new spaces as well as in the Gary Library. The integration of these innovations marked a conscious departure from the traditional atmosphere of the original buildings and marked a commitment to equipping students with the experiences needed to practice law in an ever-changing environment.
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MacChesney Hall was named after the aforementioned Nathan MacChesney, a former law professor who played a key role in the formation of Northwestern’s Chicago campus.
However, a retrospective into MacChesney’s life highlighted a troubling legacy: MacChesney was credited with the development of redlining, a highly discriminatory system of segregation.
As academics and archivists, we believe in presenting the past as it was, both good and bad. However, the Law School does not support honoring such a harmful legacy. As a result, MacChesney’s name has been removed from that classroom.
We are committed to learning from history and aspiring towards a more just future.