If it weren't for a bit of penny-pinching in 1900, Bascom Hall may not have survived the 1916 fire. According to accounts from the time, the UW was looking to build a water tower for, among other things, assurance that enough water would be available on campus to fight a major fire. Plans to erect a tower proved very costly, however, and in the end a decision was made to build a large vat below the dome of Bascom (then called Main Hall). The large container, in effect an above-ground cistern, was made out of sheet iron, had a diameter of about 20 feet and held 40,000 gallons of water.
Its existence had been forgotten by most people, until the day fire struck Main Hall, Oct. 10, 1916. Although the fire was one of the most spectacular in Madison history for those who saw it, with flames and smoke flowing from the dome visible for miles, there was little damage to the rest of the building. Credit for that goes to that large vat of water. The wood structure of the dome burned very rapidly but as the timbers and beams broke off from the structure many of them fell into this large tank where the fire was quenched. In spite of the great scattering of wood occurring when the dome finally collapsed, very few sparks and brands penetrated to the floors below because of this tank. Eventually the tank broke open and water cascaded throughout the building, causing cleanup problems but also preventing the fire from spreading. Water warped the wooden floor in the basement and caused a massive effort to haul furniture outside to let it dry, but it was not long before the building was back in use. The water was pumped out that night, and some classes were held in the building within days of the fire. A "temporary roof" replaced the dome.
The city of Madison also depended on this water to fight fires. In 1904 the had been
emptied for repairs when a great
fire started at the
Capitol. With no water available to fight the fire, Governor la Follette called
for out-of-town help.
This was the second dome on Bascom Hall, no new dome was built.
