1813: The central “round building”
appears in Joseph Jacques Ramee's plans for the new Union campus on Nistiquona Hill outside Schenectady.
1856: College Treasurer Jonathan Pearson, commenting on President Eliphalet Nott's attempts to raise money from alumni for the building, writes, “It is certainly singular that among the great number of sons a paltry $10,000 cannot be raised for so necessary a purpose.”
1858: Forty-five years after the first hole was dug in the middle of the campus, construction begins in earnest when President Nott places the cornerstone on July 28.
1859: Lack of funds halts construction in October.
1869: Students stage a mock burial of the trustees over their failure to continue construction.
1872: Construction resumes.
1877: Impatient alumni hold a banquet in the unfinished building during Commencement.
1879: Construction is officially completed, although the “finished” Memorial Hall has no heating system and no plumbing facilities.
1902: Andrew Carnegie pledges $40,000 to repair and restore the building; install a copper drum around the base of the dome; complete the stonework; add electric lighting, plumbing, and toilets; and install steam heat.
1903: °The library moves in.
1904: On the centennial of Nott's inauguration, the College formally names and dedicates the building in his honor.
1927: Librarian Wharton Miller reports that the Nott is full and there is no room for any more books.
1930: A new library is proposed.
1936: Renovations allow the library to expand into the basement.
1954: Architects propose turning the Nott into an administration building when a new library opens.
1961-63: Schaffer Library opens, and the Mountebanks and College Bookstore move into the Nott.
1971: The Alumni Council and Board of Trustees commission a “Historic Structure Report.”
1973: The report discusses the Nott's problems and proposes solutions to turn it into a functional building.
1987: The bookstore moves into the renovated College Center.
1991: President Roger Hull makes restoration of the Nott a priority.
1993: With contributions coming. from more than 2,000 alumni, efforts to raise $11 million for the Nott are successful and work begins.