The most distinctive architectural feature on the University of Missouri campus is an array of six columns, prominently towering on the campus green. The columns are all that remain of Academic Hall after a fire in 1892. The Board of Curators President then proclaimed: “Let these columns stand. Let them stand a thousand years.” For the past century, the university has posted the quote across campus and lifted the columns up as a “testament to our shared history and a symbol of collective strength.”
Nearby Westminster College, experienced a similar fate when Westminster Hall burned down in 1909, leaving only columns to remain. They, too, have left them standing and now all new and graduating students pass through them as part of a cherished campus tradition.
Undoubtedly, some wanted the pillars removed lest they serve as a reminder of the tragedy, but wiser heads prevailed. It is always easier to move toward the future when people don’t feel as if they have to lose all of their past.
