The Saga of the Sign

This column first appeared in Vol. 19, Issue 18 of Inside Indiana. To subscribe, call 800-282-GOIU!

Chances are you've walked by it a number of times. I know I did.

Sure, you may have looked at it. But you may not have really "seen" it. And it's almost a guarantee you don't know how it got there - until now.

It's just a little sign, a small, painted, peeling sign, but it happens to be a big part of Hoosier history. And after nearly a century of service, it's time for the sign to get a little attention.

Tucked in the vestibule of the west entrance to Assembly Hall, carefully mounted behind locked glass, sits a sign that - appropriately enough - says "Assembly Hall." There is a large plaque mounted underneath which reads: "The Original Assembly Hall, erected in 1896 just east of Owen Hall, served the dual function of an auditorium and a basketball arena. Great stars of the theatre and concert hall, as well as students talented in the performing or athletic arts, established an indelible tradition within its walls which is re-established in this Hall through the transferral here of the name, the name sign and the purposes of the first Assembly Hall. This Assembly Hall was named and dedicated on December 18, 1971."

The sign is all of 5-feet, 4-inches long and 14 inches high, but it's an important relic of a long-gone past. Now, we will have more - much, much, much more - on the history of the current Assembly Hall in issue 23, but the story of how that little sign came to sit in that vestibule is interesting and deserves its own space. So sit back, relax and enjoy the saga of the sign.

Once upon a time, the world was a lot less sentimental. Items were often discarded without much thought to any kind of value beyond their use, and even the items that were cherished didn't always receive the best care. There's a reason collector's items are just that. Nobody thought they would have any value.

That certainly was the case with our sign.

The original Assembly Hall, as the plaque already told us, was built in 1896. What the plaque doesn't say is that the building was known as the men's gymnasium until at least 1917. It was only after the athletic teams moved out was the building officially named "Assembly Hall." It may have been called that prior to the official naming, but the university doesn't have a record of it being called "Assembly Hall" until after the opening of the Men's Gymnasium, which is currently a part of the school of Health, Physical Education and Recreation.

I mention this because a May 30, 1971 story on the sign in the Bloomington Herald Telephone claims the sign hung on the building from Oct. 10, 1896 until October, 1938. Photos from 1898 and the early 1900s, however, do not show the sign hanging on the outside of the building, and considering the building wasn't officially named "Assembly Hall," it's unlikely the sign made an appearance prior to 1917.

Whenever it was put up, the bottom line is we wouldn't have it today if it wasn't for Lee Norvelle. Norvelle came to IU as an instructor in 1925, and five years later he founded the University Theatre. He became the Chairman of the Department of Speech and Theatre that same year, and he later founded the Brown County Playhouse.

Norvelle was walking past Assembly Hall in October, 1938, while the building was being razed, and he took the time to talk to one of the workers.

"I was passing by the old building when they were tearing it down in '38," Norvelle recounted to the Herald-Telephone in 1971. "I asked a guy where the sign was. Well, he said they had torn it off early in the demolition process and that he guessed it was somewhere in the pile of ruins."

Considering all the demolition that had been done, finding the sign would be like finding the proverbial needle in the proverbial haystack. Naturally, Norvelle rounded up some help.

"I got a group of my students, and together we spent several hours digging before finally finding it - right at the bottom, where the guy said it would be," Norvelle told the Herald-Telephone.

Sign in hand, Norvelle decided to hold onto it as a keepsake. He placed it in his office, and there it sat until March 19, 1941, when the new University Theatre was opened just days before the Auditorium made its debut. The sign sat in the Green Room of the University Theatre for another 28 years, gathering dust but holding a strong place in Norvelle's heart.

Norvelle retired in 1963, but in the late 1960s, with the current Assembly Hall under construction, Norvelle decided it was time for the sign to return to the spotlight. He contacted IU president Herman B. Wells, who thought the sign deserved a spot in the new building. In a letter from the IU Archives, Wells wrote to the Board of Trustees on May 6, 1968 to pass along Norvelle's suggestion.

"Professor Lee Norvelle tells me that he has preserved in the properties of the Speech and Theatre Department the old sign used to designate the one-time and long-used Assembly Hall (1896).

"This is most interesting in view of the fact that decision has been reached to designate the building now under construction between the Stadium and the Fieldhouse as 'Assembly Hall.'

"Old Assembly Hall, which stood on the site of the ARAC Quonset south of the Memorial Union, served the University for many years and a gymnasium, auditorium and theatre, not unlike the services to be rendered by the new structure. There also the first Indiana State High School Basketball was played.

"To me it would seem appropriate to preserve in the new Assembly Hall the link provided by this sign with the old Assembly Hall.

"Would it not be appropriate to place with the old sign explanatory inscription in a suitable location in the new Assembly Hall? From the Archives Mrs. (Mary) Craig would be able to contain historical material for the inscription. - HBW"

Indiana, however, didn't act right away, and in March, 1969, Norvelle took back what he considered to be his sign from the Green Room.

"It's my most-prized possession," Norvelle said.

He wouldn't hold onto it for long.

He offered the sign to the University in 1970 with the following conditions: First, the sign could not be restored in any way, shape or form. It had to remain as it had been all those years on the original Assembly Hall. Second, IU had to put the sign on display in the new Assembly Hall.

This time, IU didn't ignore his suggestion.

The sign, along with the plaque, was placed in the new building for the opening, and it has remained there ever since.

One of the most rewarding aspects of researching and writing the series on the history of the athletic facilities that has been running since September has been finding these sorts of long-lost stories about each building or field. Be it a photo of Ernie Pyle playing "auto polo" on Jordan Field or finding out that IU may have been the first college to use glass backboards, the research has always been fascinating on my end. There are more surprises and fun stories to come over the final five parts of the series, but I hope you have enjoyed the stories as much as I have. It's great to give these relics a bit of the spotlight once again.

So the next time you're in the current Assembly Hall, wander over to the west entrance and take a look at the sign. It will be happy to see you.

Ken Bikoff can be reached via e-mail at kbikoff@insideiu.com. To subscribe to Inside Indiana, call 800-282-GOIU!