We often seem to find ourselves in Springfield, Ohio, during the autumn. Is it the changing colors of the season which draw us back over and over again? Well… not really, it’s actually family obligations. But the autumn colors don’t hurt! Last year, we documented the October beauty of Snyder Park and Ferncliff Cemetery. And this year, we turned our attention to the campus of Springfield’s Wittenberg University.
During Ohio’s fickle fall season, you can never be sure what weather you’re going to get. But this year, we enjoyed an extended period of warm temperatures and bright blue skies. On one especially gorgeous day, we took a walk through the university campus.
Wittenberg feels like an oasis in the middle of Springfield; connected to the city, but very much separate. Locals rarely need to go onto the campus, and there isn’t much reason for students to venture off it. Before our walk, we had only once briefly driven through the grounds. But Wittenberg is one of the city’s most beautiful spots.
We started our walking tour at Myers Hall, which is today a dormitory. Built in 1846, Myers is the university’s oldest building, and briefly served as a hospital during the Civil War. There’s a legend about a wounded soldier who asked to see his horse one last time before he died. After being brought to the soldier’s bed, the horse was unable to get back down the stairs and had to be euthanized. And some believe that the animal still haunts the halls of Myers.
From Myers, we passed through the circular courtyard, and stopped to take a look at the massive Recitation Hall, the university’s second oldest and most prominent building. Today, it holds many of Wittenberg’s administrative offices. Nearby, we found another building which we loved: the Weaver Observatory, so striking with its compact, square shape and blue, oxidized copper dome.
Wittenberg is a small university, but although the campus isn’t vast, the sheer amount of green space allows it to feel spacious. And especially in the fall, the colors are breathtaking. It must be deeply impressive to students who’ve just arrived and who are still settling into their new academic lives.
Once we got to the sport facilities, we turned back and ended our walking tour at the Weaver Chapel, likely the university’s tallest building, visible throughout Springfield. We were hoping for the chapel to be open, so that we could check out the beautiful stained glass, but sadly found it closed.
It would be simple to combine an autumn walk through Wittenberg University, with a tour through Ferncliff Cemetery, located just across the street. Both are equally pleasant places to see Springfield at its most naturally vibrant.
From our Travel Blog.
Campus Fall Photos
