We’re about to mark a birthday on the campus of The University of Texas at Austin. But determining when the 89-year-old Main Building and Tower “opened” is not as straightforward as you might think. Parts of it, namely the lower floors of the north half, originally called the Library Annex, were occupied in 1934. At the other end of the range, the University did not accept ownership of every part of the building until at least late May 1937, when most newspapers nationwide began proclaiming that UT’s remarkable new $3 million “skyscraper” was finished.

And so, we take the date of the dedication ceremony, Feb. 27, 1937, as the official “birthday” of the Main Building and Tower. (This is not to be confused with the University’s birthday, Sept. 15, 1883.)

It was a mild Saturday (highs in the 70s), and the activities started at 9 a.m., when the Board of Regents inspected the contents of the lead record box that had been sealed up in the cornerstone of the original Main Building. The regents had peeked at it three years earlier when the box had been removed to prepare for the razing of Old Main.

The Old Main cornerstone as seen today, resting toward the east end of the Main Building’s loggia

The record box was what we would call a time capsule, containing an assortment of items from the day, some germane to the building and many wonderfully random. The cornerstone-laying ceremony for Old Main was held Nov. 17, 1882, and UT’s Briscoe Center for American History preserves a two-page list of the contents. (The date carved on the stone was the planned date of the ceremony, but bad weather caused a one-day delay.) They include copies of the state laws regarding UT, Gov. O.M. Roberts’ message to the Legislature urging the formation of the University, and photos and signatures of the regents. There are 1882 newspapers from across the state, coins and bills (American, Mexican and Confederate), and three pecans.

There was a Bible submitted by the American Bible Society; a photo of the new Capitol; and membership and officer lists for various fraternal lodges, the Austin police and fire departments, and Terry’s Texas Rangers. There was a poem by “a Jewish maiden” and a picture of Queen Victoria “contributed by an unfortunate man in jail.” And, especially clever, a photograph of “the assemblage at the cornerstone laying,” which must have proved a great trick to take, develop, print and deliver before the box was sealed.

The miscellany also included a streetcar ticket, a charm against rheumatism that had been carried by Gov. Francis Lubbock for 40 years, and locks of hair from seven women including those in the Wooten family. [The full list can be read at historian Jim Nicar’s blog, “The UT History Corner.”]

In 1937, another box of items was added to the original, creating a sort of two-tier time capsule. The new items included the 1936-1937 UT course catalogs, a printed list of the Board of Regents members with their signatures, and newspapers from that day.

It was standing-room-only on the loggia of the new Main Building in this still from a 1937 film produced by the Austin Chamber of Commerce.

At 2 p.m. the regents gathered on the Main Building loggia, the grand, shaded overlook on the building’s south side, and were joined by the Faculty Building Committee; the architect, Paul Cret; the contractor, Hugh Yantis; the superintendent; and invited guests.

The dedication began with a look back. President H.Y. Benedict gave an “Account of the Laying of the Cornerstone of the West Wing of the Main Building, November 17, 1882.” This was followed by Col. Arthur A. Stiles giving a “Testimony of an Eyewitness.” Stiles was a former state reclamation engineer and was the only one to have witnessed both cornerstone ceremonies. Benedict then placed the old record box in its new place, a wall cavity just east end of the building’s main entrance from the loggia.

Beauford Jester, a former chairman of the Board of Regents who in a decade would become governor, gave an “Account of the Genesis and Erection of the New Building.” Then the chairman of the Board of Regents, H.J.L. Stark, placed the new record box on top of the old one inside the wall. The building tablet then was put in its place, on the east wall of the south entrance, by contractor Yantis and his assistants. And with that, the ceremony was over.

In July 1934, the cornerstone of Old Main, which contained this lead box with artifacts from 1882, was salvaged before the building was razed to make room for the new Main Building. Many of the figures present that day were on hand for the new Main Building’s dedication. From left, President H.Y. Benedict, Regent K.H. Aynesworth, Arthur Stiles (who had been present at the 1882 ceremony), Comptroller J.W. Calhoun, Regent H.J. Lutcher Stark, Regent Chairman Beauford Jester, contractor for the demolition of Old Main E.B. Sneed, and supervising architect for the University Robert Leon White.