Main Building (University of Notre Dame)

Main Administration Building
Golden Dome of the Main Administration Building
Alternative names	Main Building, the Golden Dome
General information
Status	Used as administration and class building
Architectural style	Collegiate Gothic
Town or city	Notre Dame, Indiana
Country	United States
Coordinates	41°42′11″N 86°14′20″W / 41.703109°N 86.238938°W / 41.703109; -86.238938
Construction started	May 17, 1879
Completed	September 1, 1879
Client	University of Notre Dame
Owner	The University of Notre Dame
Height	187 ft
Design and construction
Architect	W.J. Edbrooke
Website
www.dome.nd.edu
Administration Building
U.S. Historic district Contributing property
Location	Notre Dame, Indiana
Coordinates	41°42′8.2764″N 86°14′17.4516″W / 41.702299000°N 86.238181000°W / 41.702299000; -86.238181000Coordinates: 41°42′8.2764″N 86°14′17.4516″W / 41.702299000°N 86.238181000°W / 41.702299000; -86.238181000
Built	1879
Architect	Willoughby J. Edbrooke
Architectural style	Collegiate Gothic
Part of	University of Notre Dame: Main and North Quadrangles (#78000053)
Added to NRHP	May 23, 1978

The University of Notre Dame's Main Administration Building (known as the Main Building or the "Golden Dome") houses various administrative offices, including the Office of the President. Atop of the building stands the Golden Dome, the most recognizable landmark of the University.

The first main building was started on August 28, 1843, shortly after the architect Mr. Marsile arrived on campus on the 24th. It was complete by the fall of 1844. It was a brick building, 4 1/2 story high with a small cupola (not yet a dome) with a bell in it, in French style.

Construction of the second Main Building, which replaced the first, began in 1864 and was completed in 1865. It was to be 160 feet long, 80 feet wide, and 90 feet high; it was six stories high and had a dome at the top. The architect was Mr. Thomas from Chicago, and most of the workers who built it were brothers of the Congregation of Holy Cross. Classes were taught on the third floor, while the fourth and fifth floors were dormitories.

The building stood for 14 years before being destroyed by a great fire on April 23, 1879. About eleven in the morning on Wednesday morning, 23 April 1879, smoke and flames could be seen rising from the roof of the Main Building. The causes of the fire were impossible to ascertain. Workmen had been working on repairs on the roof until around 10 o'clock, and the fire might have started due to the dry timber on the roof. The fire was first spotted from the minim's courtyard, and soon word of the event spread to the rest of the students and faculty. Early attempts at putting out the fire were made, with lines of people passing buckets of waters towards the roof of the building. Water was forced into the great tanks on the roof by steam pressure. Despite these efforts, the fire had spread to the entire roof and quickly consumed the upper floors. The South Bend Fire Department was not able to arrive in time to save the main building, because of the long time needed to round up the volunteer firemen and set up the machines. The supports of the dome burned away and the statue went crashing below in a billow of sparks and flame, and even the most courageous abandoned the hope of saving the building and focused on rescuing whatever valuable effects might be carried out of the burning building. In the zeal to save precious objects students threw many of the valuables from the windows, yet despite the well-intentioned effort, almost all of these were lost in crashing on the ground. This was especially true for many of the most precious books and manuscripts.

The fire consumed the building in three hours. The building contained most of the school’s educational and administrative activities, refectories, and student and faculty living quarters. Within three hours, the Main Building had been destroyed. The flames also consumed The Saint Francis Old Men’s Home, the Infirmary, the Minims Hall (the grade school program), and the Music Hall. Fortunately, fire fighters from South Bend arrived in time help save the kitchen, steam house, printing office, Presbytery, Washington hall and Sacred Heart Church. Additionally, the lack of strong winds prevented the fire from spreading to these other buildings. Many students, nuns and faculty narrowly escaped serious injury or death while they tried to save the Main Building’s contents as parts of the structure came tumbling down around them.