The law building is located on

Bascom Hill Bascom Hill is the iconic main quadrangle that forms the historic core of the University of Wisconsin–Madison campus. It is located on the opposite end of State Street from the Wisconsin State Capitol, and is named after John Bascom, former pr ...

on the

University of Wisconsin–Madison A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United Stat ...

campus, at 975 Bascom Mall,

Madison, Wisconsin Madison is the county seat of Dane County and the capital city of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. As of the 2020 census the population was 269,840, making it the second-largest city in Wisconsin by population, after Milwaukee, and the 80th-lar ...

. The

University of Wisconsin Law School The University of Wisconsin Law School is the professional graduate law school of the University of Wisconsin–Madison. Located in Madison, Wisconsin, the school was founded in 1868. The University of Wisconsin Law School is guided by a "law in ...

offers two major programs and one

doctorate A doctorate (from Latin ''docere'', "to teach"), doctor's degree (from Latin ''doctor'', "teacher"), or doctoral degree is an academic degree awarded by universities and some other educational institutions, derived from the ancient formalism ''li ...

program to the almost 800 students that make up the student body.

History

The

College of Law A law school (also known as a law centre or college of law) is an institution specializing in legal education, usually involved as part of a process for becoming a lawyer within a given jurisdiction. Law degrees Argentina In Argentina, ...

was started in 1868, but the first building wasn't built until 1893. The first building was a maroon Castle like structure. It was torn down in the spring of 1963 to make way for an addition to the old building. The second building was built in 1938; it is a square brick building on the south side of Bascom Hill. It was originally built to relieve congestion from the first building. Since the first building had been constructed, the way law was being taught had changed significantly. Law was now being taught more in small classrooms instead of large lecture rooms. It's a six-story building and cost $1.5 million to build. The building is 94,000 square feet, and holds 100,000 volumes of textbooks. The building was then also built specially to not burn down so that the many textbooks, documents, and other papers stay safe and are not lost. A main attraction for this part of the building is the

mural A mural is any piece of graphic artwork that is painted or applied directly to a wall, ceiling or other permanent substrate. Mural techniques include fresco, mosaic, graffiti and marouflage. Word mural in art The word ''mural'' is a Spani ...

painted in the old reading room in the

library A library is a collection of materials, books or media that are accessible for use and not just for display purposes. A library provides physical (hard copies) or digital access (soft copies) materials, and may be a physical location or a vir ...

. The mural is called ''The Freeing of the Slaves'' and is 12 by 35 feet, with the central figure standing 11 feet tall. The newest addition to the law building was finished in 1996. It is 138,000 square feet and cost $16.1 million to build. It was 15 years in design and management and took two years to construct. It added faculty offices, large classrooms, lecture rooms, and two

mock trial A mock trial is an act or imitation trial. It is similar to a moot court, but mock trials simulate lower-court trials, while moot court simulates appellate court hearings. Attorneys preparing for a real trial might use a mock trial consisti ...

rooms. Also the addition added 200,000 new spaces for textbooks in the library. It is combined to the old building to allow easy movement between buildings. The engineers called it "The Hanger" because of its appearance; giant glass windows surround the library to allow the natural light to enter.

References

* "Law Building." ''The Wisconsin Alumni Magazine''. April, 1929: 217–218. Print. * Stockinger, Jacob. "There ought to be a law against it." ''Capital Times''. 11 September 1996. Print. 28 February 2014. * "UW Law School Facilities." University of Wisconsin Law School. 17 Jan. 2013. 5 March 2014

* "Approve Final Plans for U. Law Library Addition." ''The Capital Times''. 6 Dec. 1958. Print. * "History of the College of Law." ''The University Badger''. 1893. Print. * Curry, John Steuart. ''The Freeing of the Slaves''. 1942 Paint on canvas. University of Wisconsin Law Building, Madison. * Reidinger, Paul. "The Law School's Curry Mural: One of the Grandest and Most Distinguished Works of Art in Wisconsin." Summer 1985. Print. * "University of Wisconsin Law School." Wikipedia. 17 Jan. 2014. Web. 5 March 2014. * "University of Wisconsin Law School: Student Life." 20 July 2010. Web. 8 March 2014. {{coord, 43, 04, 28.2, N, 89, 24, 8.2, W, type:edu_region:US-WI, display=title Buildings and structures in Madison, Wisconsin University of Wisconsin–Madison