News

How does one celebrate a 100th birthday? For a human or Galapagos tortoise, a centennial celebration would likely include a birthday cake heavy with candles or becoming a first-time mother. 

This year, Swift Hall, home of the University of Chicago Divinity School, is marking a century by cataloging and examining 100 objects from its history. 

From bowties to vivid murals, 100 items on and within Swift’s walls tell the history of the academic study of religion at UChicago. In the Swift 100 digital exhibition and audio tour, the voices of the Divinity School community delve into the significance of the diverse collection.

Visitors can tour Swift Hall, accompanied by the audio guide, from Oct. 18-19 during the Chicago Architecture Foundation’s Open House Chicago. Swift will also celebrate its 100th birthday with a party on Nov. 7.    

“Celebrating the centennial of Swift 100 is to celebrate the centrality of the study of religion and its import in answering the most profound human questions,” said James T. Robinson, dean of the Divinity School and Nathan Cummings Professor of Jewish Studies. “Our location on the main quad of the University of Chicago campus underscores that centrality and propels us into a new century, a new beginning, with new questions about how to be human in an ever-changing society.”

Discover the 10 (or so) items covered by UChicago News—and their stories—that encapsulate Swift Hall’s history, here: https://news.uchicago.edu/story/100-years-swift-hall-10-objects