This is where the physical layout of the campus of the University of Wisconsin began.
Established on paper in 1848, 157.5 acres purchased in 1849 included the hill.
North Hall was the first building built, completed in 1851.
South Hall followed in 1855.
These two buildings look identical on the outside. Main Hall, Now
Bascom Hall, was completed in 1858.
The first master plan included these three buildings as they were built, and two more
buildings identical to North Hall & South Hall, that were never built.
Although North & South Halls look exactly todays as when they were built, Main Hall looks
much different.
The Hill has been a big part of campus history;
Lincoln Statue, Protests, May Fete & Maypole...
University Hill Cemetery
The famous flamingo prank on campus came in September 1979. While it is generally credited to
Pail and Shovel Party founders Jim Mallon and Leon Varjian, it was another Pail and Shovel guy,
Michael LaViolette, who drove to Chicago and purchased the 1,000 plastic flamingos. Planted
overnight, they were gone by the middle of the next afternoon, as passing students grabbed them
as souvenirs. LaViolette wound up in the movie business. He was chief lighting technician on
David Lynch's film "Mulholland Drive."
