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Eastern Michigan University! |
4. If you walk behind Welch Hall, to the north, you'll come to the next stop on the tour, Starkweather Hall. Also built about 1896, the money for this building came from local philanthropist, Mary Ann Starkweather. She donated $10,000 dollars to build it as a home for the Student Christian Association on campus. A condition of her donation was that the building was to be used only for religious purposes for ninety-nine years. The building is now offices of the graduate school, and was listed on the National Register in 1977.
The building is Richardsonian Romanesque in style, with heavy stone arches on the first level, and an asymmetrical plan. The short, wide and heavy tower on the northeast side of the building features elongated vertical windows and an orange terra cotta tiled roof. Starkweather Hall was designed by Malcomson & Higginbotham of Detroit. It has some Queen Anne Style elements because of the different colors and textures seen on the building. The hardware was designed specifically for the building. Some original doorknobs still exist with the letters SCA, for Student Christian Association.
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5. Continue north to Sherzer Hall. As you stand in front of this building, facing the south side, see if you can determine which half of the building is new. If you cannot, this is a tribute to the skill of Ann Arbor architects Quinn Evans Inc., hired to reconstruct the west side of the building after a devastating fire in 1989. Sherzer was built in 1903-04 and named after William Sherzer, a professor of science who had a major role in the design. Professors could take small passages from their offices directly to their classrooms. It is now used as art classrooms. An observatory on the top of the building features a dome with telescope that rotates 360 degrees and is used by the Physics and Astronomy Department. The observatory is occasionally open for special events, offering great views of the city and sky.
The building itself has elements of the Georgian Revival Style, seen in the symmetry of its elevations. The heavy stone arch south entrance is reminiscent of Richardsonian Romanesque design. It was listed on the National Register in 1984.
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6. Walk directly east from Sherzer and you will come to King Hall. The building is important because it was built by the Public Works Administration (PWA) in 1939. Federal funding provided jobs for out of work architects and laborers during the depression. The PWA helped build many EMU buildings at the time. King Hall is named for Julia Anne King, dean of women from 1881-86. Originally used as a dorm, it had a matching building along the north side of the building known as Goodison Hall that was torn down to build the new College of Health and Human Services building. King Hall now houses offices and student meeting rooms.
Note the Art Deco details around the entrance of the building, done in pale stone. If you go inside to the lounge, you notice many 1930s details. When built, it was unique in that each dorm room was divided into two room suites, with a bedroom and study room, an entirely new concept at the time. The future of King Hall is currently being debated by the University. Ralph S. Gerganoff of Ypsilanti was the architect of this building and those similar to it elsewhere on the campus. |  |
7. Walking southeast from King Hall you come to the corner of Forest St. and Campus Drive. (You'll pass Pierce Hall on your right). Follow Campus Drive south to the last building on the tour, Pease Auditorium. Pease was designed by the famed architectural firm of Smith, Hinchman, & Grylls of Detroit in 1914. It is Neo-Classical in style, designed to look like a Roman temple with Corinthian order pilasters and a large front facing gable pediment. Built in red brick with white glazed terracotta, the entablature features a dentil course and heavy frieze, with five symmetrical bays across the front.
The building is named after Frederic H. Pease who was director of music and a professor from 1858-1909. The building had fallen into disrepair and a renovation in the mid-1990s ensured the longevity of the building. The organ in the auditorium, also recently restored, contains 4500 pipes. The building is still used for many performances and concerts on campus, seats 1700, and was listed on the National Register in 1974.
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