When Norman Hall opened in 1932 as P.K. Young Laboratory School, the grand oak already stood tall, providing shade for students.
But when Hurricane Helene made landfall as a Category 4 storm, the tree collapsed and brought its long life to an unexpected end.
UF Landscaping Director Tom Schlick said the tree was doomed years ago and its downfall was inevitable.
The iconic Norman Hall treasure was actually three trees that had grown into each other, Schlick said.
“They’d never come together, and so moisture has been allowed to get down amongst them and create that rot,” he said, pointing at the tree’s exposed interior.
Schlick said the tree’s demise is heartbreaking and reminisced about when he’d attended UF in the 1980s and had class underneath the towering tree.
Looking ahead to plans for the tree's removal, Schlick said it will probably require cranes because of its massive size and the amount of lumber. UF is still assessing the damage, he added.
A panoramic view of the oak tree by Norman Hall after it fell on Thursday, Sept. 26.
Jill Ringler, 40, a custodial employee at Norman Hall, said, “it was a beautiful tree.”
Ringler said she would sit under it during fall days and enjoyed watching squirrels climb and run across its branches.
“It’s gonna be very sad not to see it there no more,” she said. “There’s gonna be a void.”
Ringler said she’d love to see a centerpiece, memorial or fountain replace “the beauty that’s been lost.”
Looking down at the tree’s remains, Ringler shook her head.
“It just completed the whole courtyard,” she said.
Ella Lane, a 19-year-old UF computer science freshman, said the tree “really made this space feel magical.”
Lane’s eyes welled up as she continued.
“I loved working at this library and sitting at the windows,” she said. “It was so beautiful, and I’m actually really going to miss it.”
Lane said she might avoid Norman Hall in the future to avoid further heartbreak.
“It’ll make me really sad to come back…I thought that tree would be here forever,” she said.
Contact Avery Parker at aparker@alligator.org. Follow him on X @AveryParke98398.
Avery Parker is a third-year English and History major covering university affairs for The Alligator. Outside of reporting, Avery spends his time doting on his cats, reading, and listening to music by the Manwolves.
