Ayres Hall Postcard

An early postcard of Ayres Hall, probably not long after its opening in 1921. Designed by Chicago architect Grant Miller, Ayres replaced the university's original 1828 building, a Civil War-scarred relic known as Old College. At the time, the university was entirely clustered on the top of its famous Hill. Ayres Hall became the university's iconic structure, and part of its tower design later inspired the checkerboard motif on UT's Shields-Watkins Field, which was built simultaneously. Named for UT president Brown Ayres, who died in office during its construction, Ayres Hall makes a cameo in the 1970 film A Walk in the Spring Rain, starring Ingrid Bergman; in the movie, Ayres stands in for an unnamed Northeastern college. (Shared by Alec Riedl)