The Rubloff Building
After the completion of McCormick Hall in 1960, the Law School’s student population increased by more than 150 percent. This rise in enrollment once again necessitated more space, including accommodations for the Law School’s expanding programs and publications. At the same time, the library’s impressive print collection continued to grow and needed more shelving for both present volumes and future acquisitions.
Image: Rubloff building (view from Lake Michigan), unknown date. From the Pritzker Legal Research Center Special Collections, Chicago, IL.
The Location of the Law School
As dean of the Law School, David Ruder prioritized the development of a new building. However, the location of such a development was subject to debate. Some professors favored a move to Evanston’s main University campus, while others wanted to stay close to the legal community in the city. The administration considered options in both locations, looking at potential building sites in Evanston and reviewing proposals to build on top of McCormick Hall or Coon Library. Ultimately, it was decided: the Law School would stay in Chicago, and the new building would occupy the lot adjacent to the existing quadrangle, which Thorne Hall had occupied for half a century.
Plans Come Together
The Law School Building Committee also considered how best to use the new space. At one point, “Wigmore Towers,” as the project was once known, was envisioned as a high-rise with residential units that would supplement the academic areas. However, offices replaced apartments as the vision changed to a comprehensive legal center. Dean Ruder wanted the American Bar Foundation as a tenant in the new building since its scholarship would complement the work of the faculty. The ABF agreed to move thanks to the prospect of sharing a library with Law School, and the American Bar Association and the American Bar Endowment signed on as well.
As before, fundraising was a monumental task. The Spring 1982 issue of the Reporter announced that “the $25,000,000 campaign will benefit the construction of a new building addition, renovation of existing Law School buildings, endowments for additional professorships, research, the library collection, scholarship funds and the legal clinic program.” Real estate magnate Arthur Rubloff had already contacted the president of the university with the intention to make a $5,000,000 gift. This became the leading gift for the entire project, and as a result, the new building became his namesake.
Image: From left to right: Arthur Rubloff, ABA President David R. Brink, Dean David S. Ruder, and Governor James R. Thompson with model of the future Rubloff Building at a news conference announcing its construction, [unknown date].
From the Pritzker Legal Research Center Special Collections, Chicago, IL.
Image: Harry B. Reese and David S. Ruder at the Groundbreaking Ceremony for the Rubloff Building. From the Pritzker Legal Research Center Special Collections, Chicago, IL.
Learn More
Harry B. Reese was a professor and highly influential figure in the realization of the Rubloff Building. In his 2017 oral history interview, David S. Ruder remembered Reese as an active and involved member of the faculty, describing him as “the power behind the throne.” Reese, who had been at Northwestern Law since 1953, chaired the Law School Building Committee, a group of professors, administrators, and students tasked with planning for this new space.
Reese’s legacy lives on at the Law School through Harry’s Cafe, a staple in the Rubloff Building and his namesake.
Images: Pictures of the Rubloff Building’s construction. From the Pritzker Legal Research Center Special Collections, Chicago, IL.
Holabird & Root, the same architectural firm that designed McCormick Hall and the Coon Library, returned to work on the new project. “The new facility should have an identity of its own,” the Building Committee wrote. In 1984, when the Arthur Rubloff Building finally opened its doors, it clearly did. Whereas McCormick and Coon blended into Levy Mayer Hall and the Gary Library with their matching limestone exteriors and Gothic inspiration, the Rubloff Buildng stood in stark contrast with its modern, geometric design in granite and steel.
At 360,000 square feet with eight stories, the building towered over the quadrangle on its west side. Perhaps the most striking feature of Rubloff’s design was its abundance of windows. As a result, the building was illuminated in clean, natural light, creating a much different experience than the stained glass of the past.
Image: The atrium of the Rubloff Building. From the Pritzker Legal Research Center Special Collections, Chicago, IL.
Looking Forward
Holabird & Root returned once more to the Law School thirty-one years later, under Dean Daniel Rodriguez, for a project to further unite the campus. In addition to updating some previously constructed areas, architects added almost 5,000 square feet to the structure. The atrium was expanded outwards and upwards, creating indoor and outdoor seating next to Harry’s Cafe. The space between the old and the new buildings was enclosed on the second floor, forming new learning and meeting places. With this expansion, the visions of the past intertwined, creating a fuller view of the Law School for the present and the future.
Image: The Law School buildings on Northwestern’s Chicago campus. From the Pritzker Legal Research Center Special Collections, Chicago, IL.
