Orton Hall - A Building Made of Ohio

A stop on Ohio State University Campus Walk, a free self-guided tour.

Take a close look at the walls. Orton Hall, finished in 1893, was designed as a lesson in geology. It is built from about 40 different kinds of Ohio stone, and the outer walls are laid in the same order as the rocks beneath the state, with the oldest layers at the bottom and younger ones higher up the tower.

The building is named for Edward Orton Sr., a geologist who was Ohio State's first president and later the state geologist. Notice the front steps: they are Indiana limestone, chosen because they are packed with fossils of ancient sea creatures. High on the bell tower, carved figures that look like gargoyles actually depict prehistoric animals.

Inside, the Orton Geological Museum shows fossils, minerals and meteorites, with a mounted skeleton of a giant ground sloth found in Ohio as its centerpiece. If you hear bells, they come from the chimes in the tower, a familiar sound across the Oval.

Getting here: Walk north from Hale Hall for about 2 minutes to the South Oval; Orton Hall is the stone building with the tall bell tower.

Did you know?: Orton Hall is one of only a few Ohio State campus buildings on the National Register of Historic Places, along with Hale Hall and Ohio Stadium.

Photo op: Stand on the South Oval walk and tilt up to frame the full bell tower, then crouch by the front steps to spot the fossils in the stone.

Orton Hall - A Building Made of Ohio

Stops on this tour