Sproul Hall , designed by Gardner Action Dailey, is home to the departments Religious Studies, Comparative Literature, and foreign language programs. Sproul Hall is also the former home of the Linguistics department. At 9 stories, Sproul Hall towers over the rest of Campus. Sproul Hall is named for Robert Gordon Sproul, 11th President of the University of California.
A note for the perplexed: It's pronounced "sprowl".
When Sproul Hall was competed in 1963, it was the tallest pre-cast, pre-stressed concrete building in the world. Sproul was the tallest building in Yolo County until it was surpassed in 1998 by the ex-Money Store ziggurat in West Sacramento (11 stories). Sproul and Olson Halls were built at the same time as companion office and classroom buildings.
Sproul has an underground tunnel connecting it to Olson Hall (the lowest floor, where the computer labs are). It is rumored that this was constructed for use by professors heading to Olson but it seems more logical that it was never intended for personal usage.
On 01 November 2006, the body of Hung-Chieh Chai, 25, a UC Davis graduate student, was found on the third floor of Sproul. More info is at Tragic Events.
Anecdotal evidence holds that the elevators are less-than-completely reliable. Consider taking the stairs.
Though it has a very attractive and notable glass facade, the front of Sproul is practically invisible from the rest of campus, as it's blocked by Olson Hall. Due to its location, the placement of the windows, and the fact you can't get on the roof, Sproul doesn't provide a perfect view of campus. A better view can be found from the Physics and Geology building, or GBSF.
The glass stair tower was added as part of a seismic retro-fit of the building in the 1990s (anyone remember exactly when? -RussBowlus.
Sproul at night is a beautiful sight.
Every University of California campus, besides the ones at San Francisco and Merced, has a Sproul Hall.
See no toad sexing in Davis, a story about the tunnel connecting Sproul Hall to Olson Hall.
There is poetry written on the concrete around the western stairwell window on the 9th floor.
A collection of antennas taking advantage of the elevation
2008-02-07 01:20:14 So what kind of anetennas are those? And why does cell phone reception suck so bad? =( —CalvinFan
