The current Main Building, completed in 1882, is likely the most recognizable building on campus. It serves as the main administrative building on campus, containing various offices, including the Office of the President. With a statue of Mary atop a dome covered in gold, the founders of Notre Dame wanted to be sure that everyone would know who would be responsible for any success the University would have in the future - namely, Mary the Mother of God.
As the university expanded and could support more students, a "Main Building" was erected in 1865, which housed the administration, dormitories, classrooms, and the university's library. On April 23, 1879, this building burned down in a great fire, resulting, incredibly, in only a few minor injuries. Fr. William Corby, then the university president, awarded degrees early and terminated the school year.
Fr. Corby boldly declared that rebuilding would commence the day after the fire and it would be ready to accept students the following September as normal. Fr. Sorin, in Montreal at the time of the fire, returned to Notre Dame on April 27th and spoke to thousands of students and faculty in the Basilica of the Sacred Heart. He displayed great resiliency and trust in the future of the university, preaching, "Like a vigorous tree which has been burned to the ground, the life is still strong in the great heart beneath, and it will spring from its ashes more glorious and beautiful than ever.” In a letter on May 9th, Fr. Sorin wrote about the fire, "...a disaster without precedent and capable by itself of ruining any Congregation. But with God’s help, Notre Dame will revive. I have confidence in the Blessed Virgin. We shall be reborn…”
Sure enough, the core of the Main Building was rebuilt for the new academic year in September, and the building was completed in 1882. Standing taller and more exquisite than its predecessor, the Main Building stands as a sign of the Founding Fathers' resiliency, hard work, determination, and faith in the blessed mother. who, perched atop the golden dome, has guided Notre Dame throughout its rich history.
Today, the Main Building is home to a few classrooms and many administrative offices, including the Office of the President.
"The fire was my fault. I came here as a young man and founded a university which I named after the Mother of God. Now she had to burn it to the ground to show me I dreamed too small a dream. Tomorrow we will build it bigger and, when it is built, we will put a gold dome on top with a golden statue of the Mother of God so that everyone who comes this way will know to whom we owe whatever great future this place has." - Father Sorin after the Great Fire of 1879
A gift from Saint Mary's College, this 19-foot-tall, 4,000-pound statue of Mary sits atop the Golden Dome. This statue of the Virgin Mary is inspired by a statue that Father Sorin saw while on a trip to Rome.
The yellow brick on the Main Building is termed Notre Dame brick, as the materials were dredged out of the two lakes on campus.
"Whoever looks at the beautiful campus now and considers how different the whole thing would appear without the dome will not hesitate to entertain any other suggestion. The truth is that the dome upon the Administration Building assembles all the other buildings on the campus around it and contributes to each a dignity which, otherwise, it would not possess." - Rev. J.W. Cavanaugh, CSC, 1925