Wheeler Hall facts for kids
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Wheeler Hall
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Front of Wheeler Hall
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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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| NRHP reference No. | 82004654 |
Quick facts for kids Significant dates |
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| Added to NRHP | March 25, 1982 |
Wheeler Hall is a famous building at the University of California, Berkeley in Berkeley, California. It is built in a style called Classical Revival. This means it looks like ancient Greek or Roman buildings. Wheeler Hall is home to the university's English department. It was named after Benjamin Ide Wheeler, who was a university president and a "philologist." A philologist is someone who studies language and old texts.
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Wheeler Hall: A Campus Landmark
Wheeler Hall first opened its doors in 1917. It has the biggest lecture hall on the Berkeley campus. This large room is called Wheeler Auditorium. Many classes and special events happen here.
Important Moments at Wheeler Hall
Wheeler Hall has been part of some very important events.
A Nobel Prize Ceremony
On February 29, 1940, something special happened in Wheeler Auditorium. A professor from UC Berkeley, Ernest O. Lawrence, received the Nobel Prize in Physics. He won this award for his work with the cyclotron, a particle accelerator.
Normally, Nobel Prizes are given in Sweden. But because of World War II, it was too dangerous to travel across the Atlantic Ocean. So, a representative from Sweden, Carl Wallerstedt, came to Berkeley to give Professor Lawrence his award.
A Place for Student Voices
Wheeler Hall has also been a key place for student protests. In the 1960s, it was a main spot for the Free Speech Movement. This movement was about students wanting to have the right to speak freely on campus.
More recently, in the 2010s, students have continued to use Wheeler Hall for protests. Sometimes, students have even taken over parts of the building to make their voices heard. This shows how important Wheeler Hall is to the campus community.
