The Suzzallo Era: Seattle Campus Tour with Antoinette Wills
This outdoor tour will focus primarily on the Liberal Arts Quad and the 1926 wing of Suzzallo Library. Many of the buildings on the tour, including the first wing of Suzzallo library, were built during Suzzallo’s presidency, 1915-1926. They represent an era in the University’s history when a small regional institution became known nationally, in part due to the visionary and eloquent personality of its president. Bricks and stone can tell stories, and Antoinette’s experience as a historian and creative writer will illuminate the University’s history as reflected in some of the University’s most admired buildings.
UWRA member Antoinette Wills received her PhD in history from the UW in 1975. She spent most of her career as a staff writer on the fundraising team at the UW. During those decades she combined her interest in history and writing by becoming an expert on UW history. She has given campus walking tours for many years, focusing on the Collegiate Gothic buildings on upper campus. She retired in 2012, and is currently writing a novel about Henry Suzzallo.
Antoinette is the coauthor (with UW archivist John Bolcer) of University of Washington, part of the Campus History Series.