Law Quadrangle - Oxford in Ann Arbor

A stop on University of Michigan Campus Walk, a free self-guided tour.

Step into the courtyard and you could almost be at Oxford or Cambridge, which is exactly the point. The Law Quadrangle's Collegiate Gothic buildings, all pointed arches, carved limestone and stained glass, went up between 1924 and 1933, designed by the New York firm York and Sawyer. Four buildings frame the lawn: the Lawyers Club residence and dining hall, the John P. Cook Dormitory, the Legal Research Building with its soaring library, and Hutchins Hall, the classroom building finished in 1933.

All of it was paid for by William W. Cook, an 1880 Michigan graduate who became a wealthy New York corporate lawyer. He was deeply involved in the design, sometimes clashing with the law dean, and when he died in 1930 he left nearly his whole estate, about $20 million, to the law school. Campus lore says he never came to Ann Arbor to see the Quad he built.

The courtyard is open to visitors, but the buildings belong to a working law school, so enjoy it quietly.

Getting here: Cross State Street and South University Avenue to the Law Quad on the southeast corner and walk into its central courtyard.

Did you know?: When the Lawyers Club opened, the New York Times praised it as one of the finest buildings of its kind on any campus in the world.

Photo op: From the middle of the lawn, frame the arched windows and carved stone of the buildings around you; late-afternoon light warms the limestone.

More on Wikipedia: University of Michigan Law School · William W. Cook · York and Sawyer

Law Quadrangle - Oxford in Ann Arbor

Stops on this tour