Bissell Hall

  • Overview

    Facility
    BISSLL
    Number
    A452
    Function
    Adm/Serv
    Gross Square Feet
    9,418
    Construction Cost
    $18,000
    Completed
    September 1958
    Architect
    Unknown
  • Function

    Bissell Hall serves as the headquarters of University Police.  In addition to providing a safe, friendly and welcoming environment in which students, visitors, faculty and staff can live, learn, work and play, UB's police officers provide mutual-aid assistance in the community in times of emergency.  It is one of only two buildings on the original 1,000-acre North Campus that are still standing (the other is the Campus Mail Center). Built in 1958 as a church, it was renovated in 1966 for University purposes.The latest renovation effort was completed in the Spring of 2004. It consisted of the addition of approximately 2,200 square feet of space for bathrooms and locker rooms for the University Police personnel as well as upgrades to other rooms in the facility.

  • Namesake

    BISSLL.

    Wilson S. Bissell (1847-1903) was a chancellor of the University from 1902-1903.He worked in the same law firm as Grover Cleveland in Buffalo. The two men became close friends and formed the law firm of Bass, Cleveland & Bissell in 1873. Bissell accepted the nomination, when President Cleveland was elected for a second time, for postmaster general (1893-1895). He struggled to implement civil service reforms while keeping Democratic stalwarts satisfied with political appointments within the postal service.