Demolition of Washburn's Morgan Hall underway

Washburn Universitys Margaret Mulvane Morgan Memorial Hall $17 million renovation project is underway with demolition, said Richard Liedtke, project manager.

Demolition began on the halls northwestern corner at the beginning of March.

We continue to make progress as far as demolition goes, said Liedtke, the universitys executive director of enrollment management.

Limestone from the outside of the building and portions of marble from inside the building were saved and will be repurposed, Liedtke said.

Morgan Hall used to be a library. It had been housing several key Washburn offices, including financial aid, admissions and the business office.

The former librarys stacks, which were being used for storage, were being removed Monday, Liedtke said.

The area of the hall that used to house the presidents office and admissions has been gutted, Liedtke said.

That will be remodeled into new office space, he said.

The new office suites for human resources and university relations are completed.

Morgan Hall survived the 1966 Topeka tornado, which devastated Washburns campus and destroyed five major buildings, according to previous Topeka Capital-Journal articles. The university soon afterward arranged for the construction of a three-story addition to Morgan and put up four clock faces on its clock tower.

Read more:
Demolition of Washburn's Morgan Hall underway