Talk:Illinois Institute of Technology Academic Campus

File:IIT Machinery Hall.jpg to appear as POTD

Hello! This is a note to let the editors of this article know that File:IIT Machinery Hall.jpg will be appearing as picture of the day on May 20, 2013. You can view and edit the POTD blurb at Template:POTD/2013-05-20. If this article needs any attention or maintenance, it would be preferable if that could be done before its appearance on the Main Page. Thanks! — Crisco 1492 (talk) 05:48, 4 May 2013 (UTC)

Picture of the day

Machinery Hall, one of numerous buildings found in the Illinois Institute of Technology in Chicago. The Hall, built in 1901, was declared a Chicago Landmark in 2004.Photo: Joe Ravi

Did you know nomination

The following is an archived discussion of the DYK nomination of the article below. Please do not modify this page. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page (such as this nomination's talk page, the article's talk page or Wikipedia talk:Did you know), unless there is consensus to re-open the discussion at this page. You can locate your hook here. No further edits should be made to this page.

The result was: promoted by Jeromi Mikhael talk 13:20, 2 November 2025 (UTC)

(

• Comment or view
• Article history

)

S. R. Crown Hall at the Illinois Institute of Technology campus

• ... that the Illinois Institute of Technology Academic Campus (pictured) has been ranked as both one of the US's most significant architectural works and its least beautiful college campus? Source: (1) Schweiterman, Joseph P; Caspall, Dana M; Heron, Jane (2006). The Politics of Place: A History of Zoning in Chicago. Chicago, IL: Lake Claremont Press. p. 51. "During America's bicentennial year, the American Institute of Architects recognized the IIT campus - the largest and most significant collection of Mies buildings in the world - as one of the country's 200 most significant works of architecture." (2) Kaiser, Robert L. (September 13, 1997). "Mies-ly IIT Shrugs Off Ugly Tag Architects Vying to Alter `blah' Image That Sticks With It". Chicago Tribune. pp. 1, 1:1. "Now, in the current edition of a book called "The 311 Best Colleges," the Princeton Review ranks IIT as the nation's "least beautiful campus." The rating is based on responses to a survey of 56,000 college students, said the book's author, Ed Custard."
  • ALT1: ... that when Ludwig Mies van der Rohe was tasked with designing the Illinois Institute of Technology Academic Campus (pictured), it was described as an "act of God"? Source: Schulze, Franz (1985). Mies Van Der Rohe: A Critical Biography. University of Chicago Press. pp. 220-221
  • ALT2: ... that when Ludwig Mies van der Rohe was tasked with designing the Illinois Institute of Technology Academic Campus (pictured), the college's trustees were unaware of his plans? Source: Schulze, Franz (1985). Mies Van Der Rohe: A Critical Biography. University of Chicago Press. pp. 220-221
  • ALT3: ... that after the Illinois Institute of Technology Academic Campus's (pictured) master plan was completed in 1971, no academic structures were built there for four decades? Source: (1) Minutillo, Josephine (October 25, 2018). "Ed Kaplan Family Institute for Innovation and Tech Entrepreneurship by John Ronan Architects". Architectural Record. "The Ed Kaplan Family Institute for Innovation and Tech Entrepreneurship—which hosts a variety of collaboration spaces for IIT’s team-based endeavors, contains state-of-the-art prototyping and fabrication facilities, and serves as the new home for the formerly downtown Institute of Design—is the first academic building completed at IIT in over 40 years." (2) Cholke, Sam (August 12, 2016). "IIT To Build First Academic Building On Campus In 40 Years". DNAinfo Chicago. "will be the first academic building constructed on the university’s main campus in 40 years, since the Stuart Building was constructed in 1971, according to Zonka."
  • ALT4: ... that World War II caused some buildings at the Illinois Institute of Technology Academic Campus (pictured) to be built with concrete frames and custom steel windows? Source: Schulze, Franz (March 10, 2005). Illinois Institute of Technology: An Architectural Tour by Franz Schulze. Princeton Architectural Press. pp. 25, 32.
  • Reviewed: Template:Did you know nominations/Bernard Vacher
  • Comment: Thanks to LEvalyn for suggesting some of the hooks. This article last appeared at DYK in 2010; DYK renominations are allowed after five years per WP:DYKNEW.

5x expanded by Epicgenius (talk). Number of QPQs required: 1. Nominator has 748 past nominations.

Epicgenius (talk) 13:44, 19 September 2025 (UTC).

• Article is new and long enough, external policy compliant, and is presentable. The hook is cited to a reliable source, short enough, and interesting. Image is fine and a QPQ has been carried out. @Epicgenius: My only concern is that the image should have an FOP tag, but other than that, we're good to go. Icepinner 15:02, 18 October 2025 (UTC)
  • Thanks for the review Icepinner. I've added the {{PD-US-architecture}} tag to the image on Commons. Epicgenius (talk) 19:59, 18 October 2025 (UTC)
    • Thanks, greenlighting ALT0. Icepinner 02:40, 19 October 2025 (UTC)

GA review

This review is transcluded from Talk:Illinois Institute of Technology Academic Campus/GA1. The edit link for this section can be used to add comments to the review.

Nominator: Epicgenius (talk · contribs) 13:48, 19 September 2025 (UTC)

Reviewer: JustARandomSquid (talk · contribs) 18:05, 2 February 2026 (UTC)

• Hello! I'm going to give this a review. It's a bit of a long 'un, so forgive me if I'm not the timeliest. JustARandomSquid (talk) 18:05, 2 February 2026 (UTC)

• Just from a preliminary look at the sources here, I have to ask, will you be able to provide copies of offline sources for the spot check, Epicgenius? JustARandomSquid (talk) 18:06, 2 February 2026 (UTC)

  @JustARandomSquid, thanks for asking. I might be able to provide screenshots of most of them. For the following sources, it may take a while:

• Mertins, Detlef (2014). Mies. Phaidon Press
• Neumann, Dietrich (2024). Mies Van Der Rohe. Yale University Press

I do not currently have a copy of Schulze, Franz (March 10, 2005). Illinois Institute of Technology: An Architectural Tour by Franz Schulze. I was only able to access that source through Google Books. – Epicgenius (talk) 18:46, 2 February 2026 (UTC)

Ok, thanks for the info. JustARandomSquid (talk) 18:54, 2 February 2026 (UTC)

@JustARandomSquid, actually, I was wrong regarding Schulze. I have a digital copy of the full book. – Epicgenius (talk) 21:25, 2 February 2026 (UTC)

• I have downloaded the proquest.com/worldcat.org refs as PDFs. Please send me an email if you would like to receive them; I can't send attachments using Special:EmailUser. Everything will be kept confidential.
• For Schulze 1985, I can send screenshots through email. Same deal as above.
• For the following books, I have PDFs of the entire relevant passages available.
  • Schulze 2005
  • Neumann 2024
• For newspapers.com, you can apply for a free subscription through WP:TWL (if you don't already have a subscription), and/or use a private/incognito mode to see the limited free previews. If this is not possible, let me know.
• For nytimes.com, I think this is also available via WP:TWL through ProQuest.
• The only real issue is with Mertins 2014, since I have to physically go to the library to get it, and that will take a while. I'll try to request a scan though.

– Epicgenius (talk) 00:02, 3 February 2026 (UTC)

Hello. Please check your email; you've got mail!
It may take a few minutes from the time the email is sent for it to show up in your inbox. You can at any time by removing the {{You've got mail}} or {{ygm}} template.

Send as much as you can. Don't worry about the library one, I mean this is really is just a formality. JustARandomSquid (talk) 13:14, 3 February 2026 (UTC)

GA review (see here for what the criteria are, and here for what they are not)

1. It is reasonably well written.

   a (prose, spelling, and grammar): b (MoS for lead, layout, word choice, fiction, and lists):

2. It is factually accurate and verifiable, as shown by a source spot-check.

   a (reference section): b (inline citations to reliable sources): c (OR): d (copyvio and plagiarism):

3. It is broad in its coverage.

   a (major aspects): b (focused):

4. It follows the neutral point of view policy.

   Fair representation without bias:

5. It is stable.

   No edit wars, etc.:

6. It is illustrated by images and other media, where possible and appropriate.

   a (images are tagged and non-free content have non-free use rationales): b (appropriate use with suitable captions):

7. Overall:

   Pass/Fail:

• Not going to do a full review now, but I'm going to tick off the easier stuff. I see a references section and a stable history; running through the images shows them all to be relevant, captioned, and bog-standard freely-licensed own work. JustARandomSquid (talk) 18:18, 2 February 2026 (UTC)

• I'd normally do a prose review first, but I'll throw down the spot check table here first, to give you time to find the sources. I've taken 30 refs, I'd normally go with 10%, but you're obviously an experienced editor, so I don't expect you to have serious source-text integrity issues. For the same reason, try and give me as many as you can, but don't feel pressured to find all of them. JustARandomSquid (talk) 19:08, 2 February 2026 (UTC)

This table checks 30 passages from throughout the article (7.1% of 422 total passages). These passages contain 43 inline citations (6.6% of 649 in the article). Generated with the Veracity user script. JustARandomSquid (talk) 19:08, 2 February 2026 (UTC)

Reference #	Letter	Source	Archive	Status	Notes
Site
The Armour Institute buildings were designed by Patton & Fisher in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, while many of IIT's original buildings were designed by Ludwig Mies van der Rohe in the 1940s and 1950s.
8	b	National Park Service 2005, pp. 4–5.			Yes, but I'd say it's a bit of an inference that the three buildings named in the source are "The Armour Institute Buildings". Page 37 is more explicit there. Regarding this, the word "buildings" in the phrase "Armour Institute buildings" is lowercased, not a proper noun, since this is merely descriptive. Epicgenius (talk) 21:23, 3 February 2026 (UTC)
History
The Armour Institute's first purpose-built building, the Main Building, was financed by a $1.5 million gift from Armour.
27		proquest.com			Are we sure that was the Institute's first purpose-built building, though? JustARandomSquid (talk) 10:55, 5 February 2026 (UTC) While I'm pretty sure that the institute didn't have any purpose-built buildings before that, this isn't explicitly mentioned, so I have rephrased it. Epicgenius (talk) 14:20, 5 February 2026 (UTC)
and IIT was formed the next year when the merger was completed.
7	b	Schulze 2005, p. 4.
20	b	Devine & Summerfield 2013, p. 205.
Heald privately requested another set of plans from the architect Ludwig Mies van der Rohe,
38	d	National Park Service 2005, p. 33.			I don't actually see this here? Not a big deal, it's in the other ref, and I could of course just be blind, but just wondering. Oops, I actually got this mixed up with the other source. I have removed it. My bad. Epicgenius (talk) 21:23, 3 February 2026 (UTC)
46	c	Schulze 1985, p. 221.
but the library and administration buildings would have used even larger modules.
58	b	Schulze 1985, pp. 221–222.
59	a	Mertins 2014, pp. 247, 250.
IIT temporarily occupied space at 23 locations across Chicago during the war.
79		newspapers.com
or five structures were under construction, with three additional structures having been completed.
91		nytimes.com
The AAR laboratory opened in March 1950.
103	a	proquest.com
104	a	search.worldcat.org			I'll tick these two off, but they're a bit confusing — 103 says it was occupied in March, but not entirely built, and then 104 says it was dedicated, but in May? Also, not related to the spot check, but could that picture from Railway Age be PD? It would have to be published without or notice or not renewed. JustARandomSquid (talk) 10:55, 5 February 2026 (UTC) Perhaps - I can take a look at the picture later. Epicgenius (talk) 14:20, 5 February 2026 (UTC)
and a student commons building was erected nearby.
97	d	Schulze 2005, p. 7.			It isn't entirely clear what is meant by "nearby" or how this source supports that, but it does say "the Commons (1953)" was built. I assume that's the relevant text. I removed "nearby". You are correct, that is the relevant text. Epicgenius (talk) 21:23, 3 February 2026 (UTC)
117	a	search.worldcat.org
In addition, IIT began developing buildings for fraternities and sororities along Michigan Avenue between 33rd and 34th streets;
136		search.worldcat.org
IIT announced plans in late 1961 to spend $50 million developing a research complex just south of the campus.
140		newspapers.com
141		newspapers.com
The college repaired four of the buildings in 1978,
162		search.worldcat.org			Doesn't actually support that they were repaired, only that they were planned to be repaired. JustARandomSquid (talk) 10:55, 5 February 2026 (UTC) Clarified that this was merely a planned repair. Epicgenius (talk) 14:20, 5 February 2026 (UTC)
and IIT built a cogeneration plant.
87	c	chicagotribune.com
169	a	proquest.com			Technically only says they will open it, but good enough. JustARandomSquid (talk) 10:55, 5 February 2026 (UTC)
selecting five finalist designs.
157	d	search.worldcat.org
158	b	proquest.com
and was named for Ed Kaplan, an IIT alumnus who donated $11 million to help found the innovation center.
197	a	dnainfo.com			Doesn't explicitly state it was named after him, but that would be unreasonable to challenge, and is in the other ref. Also, irrelevant, but what sort of last name is Zonka? In this case, I put both refs at the end of the sentence so we wouldn't have one ref after "Kaplan" and the other after "center". Epicgenius (talk) 21:23, 3 February 2026 (UTC)
198		chicagobusiness.com
Landmarked buildings
northeast of the location of the former Comiskey Park.
206		iit.edu
designed as a simpler version of the Main Building.
216	a	Schulze 2005, p. 20.			Goes beyond the Google books preview, I'm afraid. Good enough, though I'd suggest rephrasing that to be closer to the source. Something like it having similarities to the Main Building, but smaller, so as not to imply they specifically designed it to be like the Main Building, if you get what I mean. JustARandomSquid (talk) 10:55, 5 February 2026 (UTC) I have rephrased it. Epicgenius (talk) 14:20, 5 February 2026 (UTC)
and they allowed the interiors to be more flexible.
48	c	Mertins 2014, p. 245.
133	c	chicago.curbed.com			Not exactly supported, but good enough.
it includes classrooms and an auditorium.
229	b	Mertins 2014, p. 273.
The three-story building's exterior is similar to those of Perlstein and Alumni Memorial halls,
246	a	National Park Service 2005, pp. 10–11.			Slightly interpretative, but good enough.
Yet another difference is in the facade, which includes both transparent and translucent panels of glass.
259	a	chicagotribune.com
260		Neumann 2024, p. 330.
The North Building's first floor is slightly raised.
266	b	National Park Service 2005, pp. 12–13.
Hermann Hall, a single-story rectangular building, shares design features with Crown Hall, including a raised entrance, flat roof, and black metal frame;
280	b	National Park Service 2005, p. 16.			The only nitpick is that you might as well say exaclty what the source does ("Netsch decided to model HUB after S.R. Crown Hall" instead of interpreting that as them sharing design features. Also, is "black metal structure" the same as "black metal frame"? Yes, "black metal structure" is the same as "black metal frame" in this context. I've clarified this. Epicgenius (talk) 21:23, 3 February 2026 (UTC)
It is similar in design to Hermann Hall, including in its use of interior columns, except that the building is at-grade instead of slightly elevated.
278	b	National Park Service 2005, pp. 16–17.
Other structures
The dormitories are four stories high
148	b	search.worldcat.org
296	a	Schulze 2005, p. 75.
located southwest of the former intersection of Wabash Avenue and 32nd Street.
3	e	buildinghistory.iit.edu
At the north end of campus is Keating Hall, the athletic building, which is located at 3040 South Wabash Avenue
308	a	buildinghistory.iit.edu
Also on the east side of campus, next to Carmen Hall, is the Carr Memorial Chapel,
294	b	search.worldcat.org			I actually don't see any mention of the chapel here? Am I missing something? JustARandomSquid (talk) 10:55, 5 February 2026 (UTC) Oops, I used the wrong ref. I have fixed it. Epicgenius (talk) 14:20, 5 February 2026 (UTC)
Impact
In 1976, the American Institute of Architects named the IIT campus one of the 200 most significant works of architecture in the United States.
353		Schweiterman, Joseph P; Caspall, Dana M; Heron, Jane (2006). The Politics of Place: A History of Zo…
Also on the campus is the Armour Research Foundation Reactor, an experimental reactor that was designated as a Nuclear Historic Landmark in 2025.
358		interestingengineering.com
359		ans.org

• Epicgenius, I've gone through and spot-checked what I could find and what you sent me. Like I expected, no major problems. I'm half-tempted to just call it there, but might as well go through with it now. Don't bother with something if it's too inconvenient. JustARandomSquid (talk) 21:12, 3 February 2026 (UTC)

• I'd also previously gone through some of the prose, and it's very good. I've boldly fixed some of the minor issues myself (under the logic that it's faster than telling you what I want fixed), if you don't understand or disagree with something, tell me. Two minor things I just wanted to enquire about. The first is, when you write the names of two numbered "Streets" together (eg. 33rd and 34th streets), shouldn't the plural streets be capitalised too? (Genuine question, I don't know what the rule is there). And secondly the sentence IIT had also acquired dozens of tracts east of the campus, in an area known as "the Gap", which contained houses in various conditions. seems slightly vague to me? Could that be clarified with "of differing upkeep" or "quality" or "in states ranging from... [and then whatever the source says]"? JustARandomSquid (talk) 21:12, 3 February 2026 (UTC)
  • @JustARandomSquid: Thanks for the review. I've responded to the points you raised above. For your first question immediately above, the plural "streets" is lowercased because (at least in American English), the common-noun portions of proper names are lowercased if they are being discussed in the plural. I'm not sure where this arose, just that this seems to be common practice among some style guides, and is entirely optional on Wikipedia at least. For the second question, I changed it to "which contained houses in varying states of repair." Epicgenius (talk) 21:23, 3 February 2026 (UTC)

    All good, then. Send the PDFs my way when you get round to it, I'll continue reading through the prose. JustARandomSquid (talk) 21:55, 3 February 2026 (UTC)

• I'm also going to tick off copyvio, as I don't see any issues, and even if there were any it would only be for one sentence at a time, so not really a problem. We can also tick off broad, because it certainly is. Doesn't run afoul of the OR policy either, and no issues with NPOV (it would in fact be impressive if there were). JustARandomSquid (talk) 21:58, 3 February 2026 (UTC)

• I've finished going through the prose, fixing minor issues along the way. Ticking off 1a. JustARandomSquid (talk) 10:01, 4 February 2026 (UTC)

• The list is consistently formatted, I see no problematic words to watch, or any issues with the article layout, and the lead is an adequate summary of the article. To minor nitpicks: the first paragraph of the lead says It is located in the Douglas community area, something I don't explicitly see in the article body. Also, The Armour Institute included five buildings, three of which still exist. — it's not entirely clear that the three buildings listed on the NRHP, which is substantiated in the relevant section, are the only three extant ones. Other than that, all good. JustARandomSquid (talk) 10:01, 4 February 2026 (UTC)

  Thanks @JustARandomSquid. I can send the sources tonight if you want, and I've resolved the two other points you raised. The campus is more specifically in Bronzeville (which is sourced in the article), and I clarified that the Armour buildings include the three existing buildings on the NRHP. – Epicgenius (talk) 16:18, 4 February 2026 (UTC)

  Send them over! I might not get round to looking at them immediately, but I should be able to do it fairly quickly, and then that should be it. JustARandomSquid (talk) 18:42, 4 February 2026 (UTC)

• I've gone through what you've sent me. There are a few minor nitpicks, but no major issues obviously. JustARandomSquid (talk) 10:55, 5 February 2026 (UTC)
  • @JustARandomSquid, thanks again. I've gone over and fixed the new issues you pointed out. Epicgenius (talk) 14:20, 5 February 2026 (UTC)

    Ok. That should be it then — pleasure doing business with you. Good work (now with a capital G)! JustARandomSquid (talk) 14:22, 5 February 2026 (UTC)