Wow. Look at Otto Miller Hall. It’s more than just a building. It’s a testament to ingenuity and generosity.
This wasn’t always a state-of-the-art science center. Once upon a time Otto Miller Hall was a trolley barn. Imagine horse-drawn carriages and then streetcars. This building housed those very streetcars. Later it became a manufacturing facility. Then in 1973 Seattle Pacific University bought it.
The transformation of Otto Miller Hall was ambitious. It cost 3 million dollars. That’s a lot of money even today. Over a hundred businesses and 1300 individuals donated. Major contributions included 600000 dollars from the Murdock Trust and an anonymous 500000 dollar donation. The renovation was clever. They reused materials. This kept costs low.
Otto Miller Hall is impressively energy efficient. It uses solar power. There are windmills too. It even has a system that extracts heat from the water in the Washington Ship Canal. The building’s design is flexible. Some labs are mobile. They can be moved for field studies. This design made Otto Miller Hall appealing to donors.
The building wasn’t named after a donor though. It’s named after Dr Otto Miller. He was a beloved physics professor. He joined Seattle Pacific in 1937. He was Dean of the College and then Vice President. He taught until 1966. He cared deeply about his students. He was a spiritual influence as well.
Today Otto Miller Hall stands as a symbol of innovation. It continues to serve Seattle Pacific University. Thousands of students benefit from its resources. It’s a beautiful building with a fascinating history. It’s a place where learning and education thrive. It’s a place where a trolley barn was transformed into a modern center of science. It’s Otto Miller Hall.