The Council of Independent Colleges: Historic Campus Architecture Project

Administration Building

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Administration Building (view from Jennings Randolph parking lot), Salem International University

Administration Building (view from Pennsylvania Avenue), Salem International University

Administration Building (view from Main Street), Salem International University

Institution Name: Salem International University
Original/Historic Place Name: Administration Building
Location on Campus: 253 W. Main St.
Date(s) of Construction and Designer(s):

1909	original construction Unknown
1950	addition Unknown

Type of Place: Individual building
Style(s): (Glossary)
Materials:

Foundation: locally quarried limestone

Walls: brick

Roof: shingle

Function:

ca. 1909-present (2007)	administration (currently, president and vice president, business office, registrar, office of advancement, upward bound offices)
ca. 1919	library
ca. 1919	classrooms
ca. 1919	auditorium

Significance: education, history
Landmark designation:

National Register

Salem College Administration Building (1989)

Narrative: see below
References: see below

Narrative:
The Administration Building was the second major building on the campus. Originally, the campus fronted on Main Street, where the building was located. It housed the bell that was rung in celebration and for warning. The auditorium on the second floor, when functional, had some of the best acoustics in the area and hosted such luminaries as Eleanor Roosevelt and Nelson D. Rockefeller, as well as a number of entertainers.

Currently, administrative functions are moving onto the main campus of the University, located in the Valley of Learning. Tentative plans are to renovate the building as an arts center in order to provide a public presence in the community.

The Administration building is most often used to represent the University as a whole. Pictures usually include a gate donated by one of the graduating classes.

References:

I. Bibliographic sources:

Bond, S. Orestes. The Light of the Hills: A History of Salem College. Charleston, WV: Education Foundation, 1960.

Davis, Dorothy Upton. History of Harrison County, West Virginia. Clarksburg, WV: American Association of University Women, 1970.

Smith, Myron J. 100 Years of Opportunity: A Pictorial History of Salem College, 1888-1988. Marceline, MO: Walsworth Press, 1988.

Zinn, Timothy G. A Historic Preservation Plan for Salem, West Virginia. Murfreesboro, TN, Middle Tennessee State University, 1995.

Zinn, Timothy G. Salem College Administration Building. National Register of Historic Places designtation report. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of the Interior/ National Park Service, 1989.

II. Location of other data:

University: Library, Special Collections, Facilities Management Office

SHPO

Government Offices