University of Alabama Quad The Quad is an approximately quadrangle on the campus of the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa , Alabama . Home to most of the university ' s original buildings , this portion of the campus remains the geographic and historic center of the modern campus . Originally designed by noted English - born architect William Nichols , construction of the university campus began in 1828 , following the move of the Alabama state capital from Cahaba to Tuscaloosa in 1826 . The overall design for this early version of the campus was patterned after Thomas Jefferson ' s plan for the University of Virginia , with its Lawn and Rotunda . Following the destruction of the campus during the American Civil War , a new Quad emerged in the late 19th and early 20th centuries . Different in form and function from the original design of the early 19th century , the modern Quad continues to fill its role as the heart of the campus . Although completely surrounded by academic and administrative buildings , only five structures are built directly on the Quad : the Little Round House , Tuomey Hall , Oliver - Barnard Hall , Amelia Gayle Gorgas Library , and Denny Chimes . The remainder of the space is occupied by a grove of trees on the west side and a great lawn on the east . A feature on the northwestern side , known as The Mound , is the site of the old Franklin Hall . A popular gathering place , the Quad is home to pep rallies , a bonfire during homecoming , and numerous day - to - day student activities . Old Quad . The Old Quad was rectangular and designed along a north - south axis . By the time of the university ' s destruction in 1865 , the quadrangle featured the Lyceum at the center of the northern side , the wide , high Rotunda at the very center of the quadrangle , and the President ' s Mansion at the center of the southern side . A primary lane ran from the Lyceum in the north , circled the rotunda , and continued on to the President ' s Mansion in the south . Lining this lane between the Lyceum and Rotunda were six dormitories , three on each side . Another lane ran east to west in front of the Lyceum . To the west of the Lyceum were at least two faculty houses and the Gorgas House , then used as a dining hall . To the east was a faculty house and , at some distance away from the Quad , the Alabama Corps of Cadets gunpowder magazine . The Lyceum was a two - story brick building with an Ionic portico , very similar in design to the Lyceum that Nichols built several years later at the University of Mississippi . It housed laboratories and classrooms . The Rotunda , completed in 1833 , was a three - story brick structure surmounted by a dome and surrounded by a two - story colonnade of twenty - four Ionic column s . An auditorium , used for ceremonies and church services , occupied its first two floors . The third floor housed the university ' s 7 , 000 - volume library and natural history collection . Near the northwest side of the Rotunda stood a guardhouse , now known as the Little Round House . It was the only structure on the Quad with a direct military purpose . Four of the dormitories were three - story brick buildings , Washington and Franklin halls on the west side of the Quad and Jefferson and Madison halls on the east . Two one - story frame buildings , Johnson and Lee halls , were built in 1863 , one between Washington and Franklin and another between Jefferson and Madison . The Alabama Legislature converted the university over to the military system on February 23 , 1860 . This decision proved disastrous , as it turned the school into a military target during the Civil War . During the war the university became known as the " West Point of the Confederacy , " sending roughly 200 cadets into the field each year . On April 3 , 1865 Union Brigadier General John T . Croxton and 1500 cavalrymen approached Tuscaloosa with orders to destroy all targets of military value in the town . On April 4 Croxton sent Colonel Thomas M . Johnston and two hundred men to burn the university . In the midst of carrying out his orders , university faculty pleaded with Johnston to spare the Rotunda and its library . Johnston sent a message via courier to Croxton , asking if he might spare the building . Croxton replied “ My orders leave me no discretion . . . My orders are to destroy all public buildings . ” By the time that his men had completed their orders only seven university buildings remained : the Gorgas House , President ' s Mansion , Observatory ( not on the Quad ) , the Little Round House , and a few faculty residences . Modern Quad . Following the destruction of the campus , the university remained closed to students until 1871 . When it reopened , it had a total enrollment of only 107 students . The first building to be built on the campus was Woods Hall , completed in 1868 . It was built well north of the Quad , with bricks from the destroyed Quad buildings . The Quad itself did not become home to any new buildings until the 1880s , following the end of the Reconstruction era . Completed in 1884 , Clark Hall was the first new structure facing the Quad . Built on the site of the Lyceum , the Gothic Revival - style building was designed as an all purpose building , with a library , chapel , and a public meeting room . It was followed by two additional Gothic Revival - style buildings , flanking it to the west and east : Manly Hall in 1885 and Garland Hall in 1888 . They both were designed as multifunctional structures , with Garland housing the first Alabama Museum of Natural History . Two smaller Gothic Revival - style buildings , Tuomey and Oliver - Barnard halls were completed in 1889 , directly on the Quad to the south of the Manly , Clark , and Garland grouping . The Quad was the first on - campus site for Alabama Crimson Tide football home games . The Tide played there from 1893 to 1914 before moving to Denny Field . The Quad came to be surrounded by academic buildings during a flurry of building activity in the early 20th century . From 1910 onward , all buildings facing the Quad would be built in the Classical Revival and Beaux - Arts styles . The first of this group was the Beaux - Arts - style Smith Hall , built in 1910 as the new home of the Alabama Museum of Natural History . Next was the Beaux - Arts - style Morgan Hall , built in 1911 as a compliment to Smith Hall . It initially housed the School of Law . Little Hall , in Classical - Revival - style , was built in 1915 to house a gymnasium . The adjoining Moore Hall was built in 1935 as an extension of Little and did not receive a name until 1975 . The 1920s saw more building activity around the Quad than any other period since the initial construction of the university . It saw the construction of Nott Hall in 1922 , Carmichael Hall in 1925 , Lloyd and Farrah halls in 1927 , Bidgood Hall in 1928 , and Bibb Graves , Doster , and Reese Phifer halls in 1929 . Denny Chimes , a campanile on the southern end of the Quad was also completed in 1929 . The Amelia Gayle Gorgas Library was the last structure built directly on the Quad , on the site of the former Rotunda . The five - floor Classical Revival building was completed in 1939 . Some of the foundation ruins of the Rotunda were preserved under the semi - circular plaza adjoining the front portico . In 1949 Gallalee Hall was built to house a new observatory . The last building constructed facing the Quad was the Rose Administration Building , completed in 1969 . It was built on the site of the first incarnation of Julia Tutwiler Hall , a dormitory built in 1914 and demolished to make way for the new building .