(K-State Communications & Marketing courtesy photo)
MANHATTAN — Thursday marked 50 years since a devastating fire at Nichols Hall on the campus of Kansas State University.
Riley County Historical Museum Director Cheryl Collins joined us on a special In Focus program in October discussing the year 1968 and says it was one of the largest fires in Manhattan’s history.
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Original Dec. 15, 1968 Manhattan Mercury article from the Nichols Hall fire. (Mary Hager courtesy photo)
On December 13, 1968 the fire, believed to be set by an arsonist protesting the Vietnam war, destroyed radio station equipment, sheet music, instruments and recordings of famous speakers from the university’s Landon Lectures series. One item survived. The marching band director had taken home the sheet music for “The Wabash Cannonball.” It was performed for the first time ever just a few days later at a basketball game.
Riley County Historical Museum Curator Allana Parker said thankfully, one band uniform from that era still exists as well.
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Since 1968, “Wabash Cannonball” has been a popular fixture at sporting events and pep rallies as the school’s second unofficial fight song.
Nichols Hall became a shell after the fire and university officials recommended razing the charred building, originally built in 1911 as a gymnasium. But in the early 1980s, a new Nichols Hall was constructed inside the shell and in 1985 was dedicated and the School of Music, Theatre and Dance was created in 2012.
Nichols Hall was dedicated in 1985 after years of standing as a gutted building. (K-State Communications & Marketing courtesy photo)
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