Twente Hall

Campus Building Directory

This Week in
KU History

The University
of Kansas

Twente Hall
Named for Esther Twente, founder of the Department of Social Welfare

This 1930s interestingly decorated building was originally Watkins Hospital, at that time one of the most modern of its kind in the United States. Elizabeth Watkins gave the funds to build and equip the $175,000 structure. She personally selected furnishings for the facility, which included operating and treatment rooms, laboratories, a pharmacy, kitchen, an isolation ward and doctors' offices. When the new Watkins Hospital opened in 1973, some of the original furnishings and Whitney art murals were moved to the new building.

Renamed Twente Hall in honor of Esther Twente, who founded the department of social welfare in 1946, the building currently houses the School of Social Welfare.

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Location: West end of Lilac Lane

Occupied: 1931

Architects: Joseph W. Radotinsky, State Architect

Contractor: Basil A. Green, Lawrence

Artist:
Marjorie Whitney, designer of exterior reliefs, interior murals and furniture carvings

Levels: Four and one half

Structure: Reinforced concrete, brick, hollow tile

Roof: Red clay flat tile, hip

Exterior walls:
Indiana limestone, smooth cut, broken coursed

Foundation:
Reinforced concrete

Door surrounds
Two sidelights, all under flat glass transom and arch

Window surrounds: None; windows set into walls

Decorations: Engravings of ten names prominent in medical history; door reliefs of animals and flowers, tower relief of garlands and St. George (medicine) conquering the dragon (disease); aluminum finial