Vail Hall | Lincoln University

The revitalization of historic Vail Hall and construction of a new addition, completed in mid-2024, transformed the former university library into a space for the offices of the President, Provost, Vice President of Fiscal Affairs, and other university administration.

The original 1898 structure was entirely renovated, including the conversion of a library stack room to a double-height conference space, restoration of the cupola, several reinforced cores through the brick arch floors for MEP routing, ADA accessibility upgrades, and extensive masonry restoration. The new steel-framed addition replaced an existing 1950s-era addition, which was demolished. This addition includes Vail Hall’s first elevator, a monumental stair, two floors of office space, two ADA-accessible connector ramps to the existing building, and exterior retaining walls to accommodate changes in grade around the site.

Connecting the two buildings proved to be an interesting design challenge. New openings were cut in the existing masonry walls for these connection thresholds, and steel lintels were installed. A 4” expansion joint was provided between the structures to allow for differential seismic movement. The limited space between the structures necessitated the use of unusual MC-shape moment frames which connected to HSS columns.

The renovation of the original building and construction of the addition centralizes university administration to the midst of campus activity, and brings Vail Hall back to prominence as a major focal point in the historic stretch of Lincoln’s campus.