Kansas University is undertaking a .1 million renovation to the exterior of Spooner Hall. Mark Reiske, KU’s associate director of design and construction management, explained some of the needed repairs on one of the oldest buildings on campus.

Spooner Hall has previously served as KU’s first library, an art museum and an anthropology museum. Today, it houses Spooner Commons, a space for meetings, workshops and lectures.

One of Kansas University’s oldest buildings is getting a $1.1 million facelift.

Beginning in March, Spooner Hall, dedicated in 1894, will undergo an exterior renovation expected to be completed by the fall.

The repairs are needed, said Mark Reiske, KU’s associate director of design and construction management. He pointed to crumbling stone and an eroded column near a window on the north side of the building Tuesday afternoon, saying the wear had allowed moisture to get into the building.

KU conducted an analysis on the building last fall, and presented its findings to the state and community historic preservation groups, which approved the renovation. The building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1974.

Work will include patching and replacing stone that is beyond repair, cleaning and waterproofing the building’s exterior and repairing steel panels on upper walls to prevent further deterioration.

The biggest challenge has been finding stone to match the existing building, Reiske said.

“We’ve literally, for probably more than the last 10 years, been searching for stone for Spooner Hall,” Reiske said. “We’ve gone as far as India. We’ve come close to finding it in Colorado.”

Jim Modig, KU’s director of design and construction management, said the closest match came below a Colorado neighborhood that would have needed to have been demolished for KU to gain access.

“You want to preserve as much as you can, and replace as little as you can,” Modig said.

While there are no exact matches, they’ve come close on the color, Reiske said. The stone will probably look different as it ages, though he said a casual observer likely won’t see much difference.

Today, the hall houses Spooner Commons, a space for meetings, workshops, symposia and lectures. It has previously served as the university’s first library, an art museum and an anthropology museum.

The funding for the project will come from state tax dollars allocated to KU for deferred maintenance projects.

The renovation won’t completely fix all of Spooner’s problems — KU is still seeking more than $500,000 to fix an aging roof on the building.