Return to Camelot

Thursday, May 9, 1996

Two years and 80 tons later, Kerckhoff Hall’s spires are ready
for reattachmentBy Toni Dimayuga

Daily Bruin Contributor

Pre-1994, Kerckhoff Hall resembled a castle on a hill, with the
spires crowning the main tower jutting up at the sky.

After the Northridge earthquake, the spires disappeared, and the
"castle" was reduced to just another construction site.

But according to construction officials, Kerckhoff Hall will
return to its regal state by May 1997. The spires will be
reattached over the next nine months, serving as the icing on the
cake as the seismic renovation of Kerckhoff’s interior is scheduled
to finish by early November.

The tall stone spikes were damaged along with the rest of the
building as a result of the ’94 temblor. Construction workers took
the precaution of removing each of the 20-ton spires, along with
the finials, the spires’ smaller counterparts. The spires have been
in storage since their removal, and are now ready to reclaim their
posts atop Kerckhoff Hall.

Because of the spires’ historical value and massive weight, the
workers had to be careful and slow in their task, explained Curt
Ginther, architect and principal project manager of Kerckhoff Hall.
Scaffolding was erected around the main tower, and it took about
three months to disassemble the pieces.

Work on replacing the spires will begin on May 20, Ginther
explained. The year-long time frame is due to preparatory work,
since "Kerckhoff is a historical building, the contracting work has
to be done in a careful manner," Ginther said.

Many students are anticipating the comeback of the stony spears.
Some, like Audrey Read, a third-year psychology student, viewed
their return as a means of maintaining the campus’ traditional
appearance.

"I think it’s great to preserve the heritage of our school, to
make it look as much traditional as it did when it was first built,
so I’m all for the spires being put back up," Read said.

Others believed that the spires’ historical value adds a certain
prestige to the campus.

"If they have historical meaning, it adds a lot more to the
building, to the school," said Christine Buckhout, a first-year
undeclared student.

While the idea of Kerckhoff Hall returning to its old grandeur
is appealing, some students do not enjoy the fact that spire
reattachment alone will merit over another year of
construction.

"I don’t appreciate all the construction. I mean, I think it’s
really disruptive," Read said. "So I hope it’s done soon, and it
doesn’t take a lot of noise and other kinds of pollution to get
back the tradition and heritage, which is really important."

Other students explained that they are simply tired of all the
construction.

"I’m ready for the construction to be over, I’ve had enough,"
said Mary Washburn, a second-year biology student. "I wish they
would hurry up."

Despite the year-long period of exterior repair, Ginther
explained that Kerckhoff’s interior is nearing completion. Phase I
of the building’s construction, which involves seismic
strengthening on the ground floor, will be completed sometime
between late July and early August. Phase II, which deals with
renovating the rest of the interior and bringing the building up to
safety standards, is slated for completion by Nov. 6.

Most students were just grateful that Kerckhoff Hall will soon
return to normal.

"It’s nice to see some of the old original architecture of UCLA
coming back," said Rachael Tanenbaum, a third-year transfer student
majoring in psychology. "Especially in Kerckhoff, which is a
historical building."

Photo illustration by JINO OKConstruction workers … remov(ed)
each of the 20-ton spires (after the ’94 temblor) … The spires
have been in storage since their removal, and are now ready to
reclaim their posts atop Kerckhoff Hall.