LeConte Hall facts for kids
Quick facts for kids |
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LeConte Hall, University of California
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West entrance
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 Location in Oakland, California
Location in California
Location in the United States
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| Location | Berkeley, California |
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| Area | less than one acre |
| Built | 1924 |
| Architect | John Galen Howard |
| NRHP reference No. | 04000622 |
| Added to NRHP | July 6, 2004 |
LeConte Hall is a famous building on the campus of the University of California, Berkeley. It is where the university's important physics department is located. When it first opened in 1924, LeConte Hall was one of the largest physics buildings in the world. It was also the place where the very first atom collider was built. This amazing machine was created by Ernest O. Lawrence in 1931. The building was named after two brothers, Joseph and John LeConte. They were both professors at UC Berkeley. Joseph taught Geology, and John taught Physics. They were also the first and third presidents of the university.
In 2004, LeConte Hall was recognized as an important historical site. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places.
Building History
In 1924, the University of California, Berkeley, opened LeConte Hall. This new building was needed because the physics department was growing. It also helped the university hire new and talented professors. One of these new professors was Ernest Lawrence, who joined in 1928.
Lawrence, along with his students M. S. Livingston and David Sloan, built a special machine. It was an 11-inch cyclotron, which is a type of particle accelerator. They put this machine in room 329 of LeConte Hall. This device was the first successful cyclotron ever made. It could produce a current of 1.22 MeV protons.
Lawrence later started the Radiation Laboratory, also known as the "Rad Lab." This lab was first set up in the space between LeConte Hall and the Campanile. The lab later moved to a different location on a nearby hill. It was then renamed the Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory.
Another important nuclear physicist, J. Robert Oppenheimer, joined the physics department in 1929. Oppenheimer and his group of students had an office in room 219 of LeConte Hall. In 1942, Oppenheimer was chosen to lead a research group. This group studied fast neutrons. In the summer of that year, he invited many top physicists to LeConte Hall. They met to discuss how to develop an atomic weapon. These physicists and Oppenheimer's students, including Hans Bethe and Felix Bloch, worked on the top floor of LeConte Hall. They spent a month analyzing important data.
Nobel Prizes
In 1939, Ernest Lawrence received the Nobel Prize in Physics. He was the first person from the Bay Area to win this award. Since then, LeConte Hall has been home to many Nobel Prize winners. Eight professors who worked there have won the Physics Nobel Prize. Also, four former students from LeConte Hall have won this prestigious award.
Building Updates
In 2006, the UC Berkeley campus finished a big renovation project. It cost about US$30.7 million. The goal was to update the facilities in LeConte Hall. They also added seismic retrofitting. This makes the building safer during earthquakes. Since LeConte Hall is a historic landmark, great care was taken to keep its original look. They also restored old features, like the historic skylight on the fourth floor. This floor is now home to the Berkeley Center for Theoretical Physics.
Name Change
On July 7, 2020, the University of California, Berkeley, announced they would consider changing the building's name. This was because the LeConte brothers had supported ideas of racial inequality. On November 18, 2020, the university made a final decision. They officially removed the LeConte name from the building. This decision was made because of the brothers' writings, which promoted unacceptable views on race.
