The University of Denver was a donation away from disaster 100 years ago.

Faced with heavy debt in the early 1900s, DU nearly lost its property to a glue factory. Struggling to save its most prominent building, University Hall, the trustees turned to then Chancellor Henry Buchtel.

Buchtel was successful in saving University Hall by raising the necessary cash. His fundraising also enabled the construction of four new buildings.

One of these was Memorial Chapel in the heart of the campus. Another building that came from Buchtel’s legacy is the Buchtel Bungalow off Evans Avenue. Once his residence, it is now used for meetings.

“It is a great place to hold study groups, when you just want to get away from Penrose Library,” said University of Denver librarian Joe Kraus. Kraus said many of the students who utilize the Buchtel Bungalow don’t realize its history, and many don’t even know who Buchtel was.

“Nobody here would honestly know the namesakes of campus buildings,” said Pat Parrish, a third year resident assistant. “That sort of information is not readily available.” Several DU students agree.

“I know very little about the histories of campus buildings and their founders,” said freshman Kate Paparo. “I do know that the university’s current chancellor, Dan Ritchie, donated a lot of money to construct the Ritchie Center, hence the namesake.”

Students attributed most of their knowledge of campus history to the reputations of certain buildings. Many students are familiar with the Mary Reed Building because it is believed to be haunted. Throughout the years there have been rumored sightings of the Mary Reed Ghost.

Mary Reed was a large contributor to the university, and it was through her donation that the Mary Reed Building was constructed as a library for DU in 1932. Margery Reed, Mary Reed’s daughter, was the namesake of Margery Reed Hall.

Bill Daniels, who endowed the Daniels College of Business, is a name most students recognize. He was one of the early cable television entrepreneurs.

Though there is not a ghost of Bill Daniels walking the building, the state-of-the-art building does have a heated parking garage located in the basement.

“It is a nifty thing the Daniels School of Business has going on. The parking garage has a controlled thermostat that allows heat to be distributed underneath the garage’s surface. It prevents icy spots and hazardous car accidents when entering the garage,” said junior Geoff Stell.

Though Stell is perfectly up to date on the technological aspect of DCB, he admits that he could learn more about the donor.

“I have seen pictures and plaques of him all around the school, but all I know of him is that he brought cable television to Denver, his exact contribution to the university, I am not sure,” said Stell.

Students agree that it would be beneficial if they knew more about the men and women whose gifts built the DU campus.

“It would make a great addition to the prospective student campus tour. I still remember my tour guide’s anecdote of the Mary Reed Ghost,” said freshman Tiffani Willis.

“But it would have also been nice to know actually who Mary Reed was.”