Lyceum-The Circle Historic District
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Lyceum-The Circle Historic District
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Lyceum Building
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| Location | University Circle, Oxford, Mississippi |
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| Coordinates | 34°21′57.6″N 89°32′5.7″W / 34.366000°N 89.534917°WCoordinates: 34°21′57.6″N 89°32′5.7″W / 34.366000°N 89.534917°W |
| Area | 10 acres (40,000 m2) |
| Built | 1848 |
| Architect | William Nichols |
| Architectural style | Neoclassical Revival |
| NRHP Reference # | 08001092 |
| Significant dates | |
| Added to NRHP | October 7, 2008 |
| Designated NHLD | October 7, 2008 |
The Lyceum-The Circle Historic District is a historic district within the University of Mississippi campus in Oxford, Mississippi. It includes eight buildings and several monuments lining University Circle, and surrounds "The Circle" on the campus. The university was established as the flagship public institution of the state, and generations of leading families' sons and daughters have studied here.
The district is also significant for its association with the Civil Rights Movement led by African Americans, and for the increasing role the Federal government took to preserve constitutional rights of minorities. Ole Miss was integrated by the enrollment of James H. Meredith, an African-American military veteran, on October 1, 1962. In Mississippi in the fall of 1962, there was both official and informal, violent resistance to court-ordered desegregation of the university. The violence required intervention by the Federal government to protect the safety of citizens.
Meredith's admission was followed by riots on the campus, by both white students and outside segregationists who gathered there from around the state. The disturbances took place following court decisions for integration of public educational institutions, during the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s. This historic district was designated as a U.S. National Historic Landmark on October 7, 2008. (This may not have been announced publicly until October 14.)
Located at the center of the University of Mississippi campus, the district contains eight academic buildings arranged on University Circle, which encompasses an interior common area dubbed "The Circle," a historic site in the district. The eight buildings include the Lyceum Building, the Old Chemistry Building, the Croft Institute for International Studies (known as the "Y" Building at the time of desegregation and earlier as the "Old Chapel"), and Carrier, Shoemaker, Ventress, Bryant, and Peabody dormitory halls. The district also includes the flagpole in the center of The Circle, the Confederate Monument in The Circle, and University Circle.
34°21′56″N 89°32′10″W / 34.365494°N 89.536037°W
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