Iliff School of Theology

​I thought I would add another historical entry before going back to more modern photos. Today's post is the Iliff School of Theology. The reason I'm posting this one is the connection the school has with the University of Denver, the subject of my last entry. The school was once part of DU. Denver was founded as a Methodist institution, and in 1892 the Iliff School opened as DU’s theology program. At the time, DU was known as the Colorado Seminary. The school is named for John Wesley Iliff, a Colorado businessman and cattle rancher. Iliff moved to Colorado to open a store during the Gold Rush and later went into ranching. He died in 1878 and left part of his estate for the founding of the school. His wife and her second husband directed the funds and ensured the construction of the school. Below is Iliff Hall, the original building for the institution. The cornerstone was laid on June 8, 1892 and the building opened the following year. The school remained a part of DU until financial and other operational issues forced it to close in 1900. It was subsequently reorganized as an independent institution in 1903. However, classes would not begin again until September 1910. This is the only photo I have of the place. The campus of Iliff is beside DU’s and this building is just south of DU’s University Hall (see the previous entry for a photo of that building).  The campus (and a large part of DU’s campus) is just north of Iliff Avenue (there is a town in Colorado also named Iliff). The school offers four master’s degrees and a Ph.D. program jointly with DU. At present, it has the largest theological library collection in the Mountain West. This photo was taken in 1998 when I visited the University of Denver.