1963 aerial view of the lakefill during construction. Courtesy of University Archives.
Listen to the 1964 lakefill dedication >
The Lakefill Expansion
During his tenure as the twelfth president of Northwestern, J. Roscoe Miller devoted a great deal of time and energy to enhancing the University's physical facilities. His efforts on the Evanston campus met resistance when, in the late 1950's, it became clear that existing land holdings would not support further expansion.
Looking for Space
Miller's Business Manager, William S. Kerr, identified three options for future development in Evanston: move west across Sheridan Road into residential neighborhoods; build an "asphalt campus" by crowding new buildings on to green spaces east of Sheridan Road, such as Deering Meadow; or extend eastward into Lake Michigan.
The obvious drawbacks of the first two options - taking valuable real estate of city tax rolls and ruining the natural beauty of the lakeside campus - led Kerr to recommend filling in part of the lake. Moreover, it was estimated that this project could be done at one third of the price to buy land in Evanston.
After studying the recommendation, Miller obtained approval for the trustees, and in October 1960, publicly announced that the Evanston campus would extend eastward approximately 1,200 feet. The University would add 74 acres of new land at a cost of about $5.2 million.
Hurdles to Development
The plan called for the purchase from the state of Illinois of 152 acres of submerged lake land at the cost of $100 per acre. However, before construction would begin, Northwestern had to secure the approval of the Evanston City Council, the Cook County Board, the Illinois legislature, the Governor, and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
The University's proposal sailed through these many obstacles due, in part, to recognition of its earlier contributions during World War II. The Evanston City Council signed off in one meeting. After extensive lobbying in Springfield, Kerr and Alban Weber, the University Counsel, were rewarded with unanimous support by both houses of the state government in early 1961. The Army Corps issued a permit that fall, asserting that the proposed expansion area was well removed from established lake shipping routes as to pose no problem.
As for local residents, they hoped the lakefill expansion would prevent the state from extending Chicago's Lake Shore Drive through Evanston and into Wilmette.
Through all of the successes the University had in moving the fledgling project along, there was one snag. Because sand for the lakefill was to come from the dredging of a controversial harbor in the Indiana Dunes, Senator Paul Douglas of Illinois, a staunch conservationist, accused Northwestern of taking part in an act of environmental vandalism. In time, Douglas's protest was overcome, Indiana got its harbor, and Northwestern got its sand.
With legal hurdles behind him, Miller turned his focus to the other key aspect of such an endeavor: fundraising. His focus was sharpened thanks to John G. Searle, President of the pharmaceutical manufacturer G.D. Searle & Company. On Christmas Eve 1961, Searle called Miller and confidentially offered $2.5 million to get the project started.
Construction of the Lakefill Campus
Lakefill construction took two and a half years, beginning with a limestone retaining wall around the perimeter of the underwater expansion zone. The sand fill came on barges from Indiana.
By 1964, solid ground had been established. Vogelback Computing Center was the first of many buildings to appear on the new land, just beneath what was a low bluff overlooking Lake Michigan. Before opening, the low, flat roof of Vogelback served as the speaker's platform for a ceremony to dedicate what was named the J. Roscoe Miller Campus.
Former Illinois Governor Adlai E. Stevenson, a 1926 graduate of the Law School, was the principle speaker. He congratulated the University for what it had accomplished in recent years and encouraged Northwestern to proceed with what would be one of the most ambitious building phases in the school's history.
The newly created lakefill made room for the construction of facilities, including the University Library in 1970; the Norris University Center, and the Frances Searle Building in 1972; Pick-Staiger Concert Hall in 1975; and the James L. Allen Center in 1979.
In recent years, the lakefill campus has grown to include the Henry Crown Sports Pavilion and Norris Aquatics Center, Annenberg Hall, the Center for Nanofabrication and Molecular Self-Assembly, and the Arthur and Gladys Pancoe-Evanston Northwestern Healthcare Life Sciences Pavilion.