Section 03a – Construction of North and East Wings from 1923-1925

Irvin Hall’s Centennial: 1925-2025
Miami University, Oxford, Ohio

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BASEMENT FLOOR BLUEPRINT FOR IRVIN HALL
BASEMENT FLOOR BLUEPRINT FOR IRVIN HALL
FIRST FLOOR BLUEPRINT FOR IRVIN HALL
FIRST FLOOR BLUEPRINT FOR IRVIN HALL
SECOND FLOOR BLUEPRINT FOR IRVIN HALL
SECOND FLOOR BLUEPRINT FOR IRVIN HALL
ROOF BLUEPRINT FOR IRVIN HALL
ELEVATION PLAN
ELEVATION PLAN
ELEVATION PLAN
ELEVATION PLAN
ELEVATION WALL SECTION PLAN (Notice how the northern corridors did not directly line up between the basement level and upper levels.)
DETAILS PLAN From the original blueprints for the north face of the building. There were once stairs on the left and right sides of the first floor entrance leading to a ground floor alcove entrance.
The long struggle between swelling enrollment and inadequate funding was eased in 1921 when the Ohio General Assembly appropriated funds for construction at state universities. Miami also received its largest bequest for building a dormitory. With the combination of state and private funds, between 1923 and 1924, Wells Hall, University Hospital, Odgen Hall, the south wing of Sing Hall, the north portion of Gaskill Hall, McFarland Observatory, and Irvin Hall were constructed. Robert S Harsh would be responsible for two of these buildings, Irvin and Swing. In 1924 President Highs wrote: “As state architect Mr. Harsh had general charge of our architectural work for two years and his advice and suggest were excellent. He saved us money, and he looked after our interests in a most satisfactory way. During this period our buildings were being built by other architects, and Mr. Harsh’s work was largely advisory.” The other architects were Frank L. Packard, H.H. Hiestand; and Dittoe, Fahnestock and Ferber Fred Wood. They would change Miami’s architectural image. The north and east wings of Irvin Hall opened in 1925. Harsh is credited as architect but apparently was not the original designer. A letter of request for appropriations describes the design process for Irvin Hall: “When the final details of the plans were taken up the state architect made changes in the construction and design of the building which greatly reduced its cost.” That the nature of those changes is unknown is unfortunate, for Irvin Hall was the fist building at Miami to be fully built from the ground up in neo-Georgian style, and it completed Miami’s first quad (Old Main, North Hall, South Hall, Irvin, Alumni Library, Bishop, Hepburn, and Brice Scientific Hall), achieving the loose quadrangle pattern suggested by Patton and Miller, Kessler, and Hiestand.
July 23, 1924 Mr. Horace A. Irvin #17 East Third Street, Dayton, Ohio My dear Mr. Irvin: In our telephone conversation the other day you told me there was a roll of plans addressed to Mr. Wood left in your office. I find on inquiry that these are detailed plans of a part of the Recitation Building which were left there by mistake. Will you kindly have your secretary address this roll to The Woods Construction Company, Miami University, Oxford, Ohio, and mail it parcel post? I am very sorry to trouble you with this but they are plans which it is important that Mr. Wood should have. Sincerely Yours, RMH/ELB.
November 8, 1924 Mr. Horace Irvin 17 East Third Street, Dayton, Ohio My dear Mr. Irvin: I have been advised by Mr. Wood and by Mr. Dittoe that Odgen Hall is practically ready to be accepted by the Board of Trustees. There are two or three small items which are still to be done but they are trifling and their completion is fully taken care of. I would be glad to have you advise me of your desires in this matter. Will you and the committee meet at Oxford and go over the building and formally take it over? Or do you wish Roudebush and me to represent you in this matter? Of what disposition do you desire to make of it? I would be very glad indeed if the building committee could meet here and not the progress of the work. 2 – Mr. Horace A. Irvin […] The recitation building is moving along fairly well; the second floor slab has been poured and they are now busily erecting the frame work for the roof slab. The iron is here and this will be poured just as soon as the forms are complete. It seems now quite probable that the roof will be raised and water tight before Christmas. I think they are planning to start on the brick work in another week. With all my best wishes, I am Sincerely Yours,
January 15, 1925 Mr. Horace Irvin 17 East Third Street, Dayton, Ohio My dear Mr. Irvin: I have gone over the matter of the heating and ventilating contract for the addition to the McGuffey Building several times with Roudebush and am rather familiar with the situation. To the best of my judgement, out wisest plan is to reject all bids and readvertise for bids for the heating plan under the system first devised. Harsh’s original plan for heating and ventilating and also for the construction of this building seemed to be more economical than the supposedly cheaper plans which he submitted for the revised bids. Roudebush tells me that the Attorney General advised him today that it would be impossible for us to hold the original contractor to his bid under the circumstances, and that he recommends that we proceed as Roudebush has suggested in getting new bids. Under the circumstances, I think the building committee would be wise in rejecting those we have. On the whole, the several buildings are progressing as well as could be expected in weather such as we are having. The brick work on the recitation building is nearly up to the second story and today they are beginning to lay the stone in the McGuffey addition. With all my best wishes for the New Year, I am Sincerely Yours,
WARM WEATHER SPEEDS WORK ON NEW BUILDING Recitation Hall Taking On Semblance Of Real Structure. Work Begins On Interior. Another evidence of Spring is the rapidity with which the Woods Construction Company is rushing to completion the new classroom building. The past week has seen it develop from a pile of concrete and brickwork into the semblance of a real building. The roof is practically entirely framed and only awaits the addition of tiling to make it complete. The sashes have been put into place preparatory to inserting the windows. The partition walls of construction tile will present sound-proof divisions between the classrooms when the plaster has been applied. The dormer windows in the roofs lend an added attractiveness to the building as well as being useful. The size of the new building cannot be realized until one inspects it from within. Three spacious stairways will give room for an exceptionally large number of students hurrying to get to classes on time. The classrooms themselves are commodious and well lighted. The heating and ventilating systems are being installed, giving promise of an equalized temperature in every portion of the building. Although it will be some months before the building will be complete, it will be one of the greatest improvements on the campus and a much needed one.
May 6, 1925 Mr. Horace A. Irvin 2113 North Boulevard Dayton, Ohio My dear Mr. Irvin: I am very sorry to hear of your indisposition and that the doctor has put you to bed. However, your sentence sounds light and the trip to Hawaii very delightful. You have earned the rest which you are now being ordered to take and I hope that you will find it very delightful and enjoyable. We will certainly miss you at the Board meeting, as I am under the impression this is the first meeting you will have missed since you have been on the Board. I have particularly appreciated your wisdom and judgement and advice at these meetings and I am sorry you cannot be there. If anything comes up before the eighteenth that I feel should receive your personal attention I will take the liberty to advise you. At the present moment things are moving along in a fairly regular way. I am spending a good deal of time endeavoring to make wise appointments for the next year and shaping up things for the end of this year. The buildings are all progressing very nicely. The plasterers are making large headway on the recitation building and the steel workers have just finished raising the beams for the roof of the McGuffey addition. On the whole, all of the work in my judgement is going on very satisfactorily and at a very good rate of speed. With all my best wishes for your entire recovery of your strength and for your thorough enjoyment of your trip, I am Yours faithfully,
NEW BUILDING TO BE READY IN FALL Seven Departments Will Have Quarters In New Building Carrying out the recommendations of the Faculty Committee, the Administration will move a number of Liberal Arts departments from the Main Building to the Recitation Hall now being finished. Although all that so desired can not be transferred, the departments of Economics, English, Government, History, Mathematics, Religion, and Sociology will have new quarters. President Hughes stated early this week that congestion in the Main Building will be greatly alleviated because each professor there will have an office and classroom to himself beginning next September. This plan will not be carried out in the new building, however; there both rooms and offices will be shared by instructors. Appropriations by the state will not permit the completion of the south wing for two years. When finished, The Physics department will be sure of a place there as this has been definitely decided. All rooms that are finished will be filled at all hours next year. New quarters will be provided the Miami Student, and Recensio offices.
IRVIN HALL NAMED FOR LATE TRUSTEE Horace A. Irvin of Dayton Held Prominent Place For Many Years On Miami Board Miami University Trustees have named the new recitation building, now nearing completion, Irvin Hall in memory of the late Horace A. Irvin of Dayton. In 1986 Mr. Irvin was appointed by Gov. Bushnell as a trustee of Miami University. He was chairman of the building committee and while in this office under his direction more than a million and a half dollars were expended for new buildings. He has had a large responsibility for every building now on the campus with the exception of part of the Main building and two old dormitories for men. Mr. Irvin at the time of his death was the president of the Irvin, Hewell and Vinson Paint Company of Dayton, Ohio. He was a man prominent in the civil work of that city and also devoted much of his time and interest to philanthropic and religious enterprises. He was a thirty-third degree Mason and was especially active in Masonic work, being recognized as one of the most prominent and leading Masons in America. He was a trustee of the Westminster Presbyterian church and a director of the Merchants National Bank in Dayton. His excellent management in constructive work is shown in the various building on the Miami campus. In the death of Horace A. Irvin Miami loses one of the most loyal and useful trustees she has ever known. Gov. Donahey has appointed John. C. Wood of Georgetown, a prominent insurance and real estate man to fill the vacancy of the Board of Trustees occurring through the death of Mr. Irvin. Mr. Wood was a student at Miami 1904-1907.
ALUMNI NOTES Alumni, we welcome you. You will find that the school has not changed so radically as the public press would have you believe. However, you will find that the University HAS CHANGED — Irvin Hall is now complete; athletics are booming; Fisk Room is entirely finished; the new Delt House will be dedicated on Sunday; an addition has been built to McGuffey; the astronomical observatory will be ready for occupation this week; and the list of honor students appearing elsewhere in this weeks STUDENT is evidence of the quality of our scholarship. We welcome you, Alumni, back to your Alma Mater.
December 28, 1925 Mr. W. P. Roudebush Sec’ty. Board of Trustees, Miami University, Oxford, Ohio. My dear Mr. Roudebush:- In order that the final estimate my be issued on the Recitation Building I suggest, that if possible, a meeting of the Building Committee be held at Oxford, at which time, we together with the State Architect’s office may go over the building and if same is found to be satisfactory, to make the final payment on same. In my estimation the building is now complete and ready for such final check by your Building Committee. With best wishes for a Happy New Year, I am Sincerely yours, Robert S. Harsh. RSH/NB
January 21, 1926 Mr. W. P. Roudebush, Sec. Board of Trustees, Miami University, Oxford, Ohio. Dear Sir: We are enclosing herewith for vouchering by your institution, copies of statements for fees of Robert S. Harsh for architectural services on the Recitation Building. Also copies of our invoices covering same. These statements are in connection with the final estimates of the Lucas & Tingle Co. and the Woods Construction and Supply Co. The final estimates have been sent these contractors for their signatures, with instructions to forward to you for vouchering. Respectfully yours, Herbert B. Briggs State Architect and Engineer By Helen A. Dury, Secretary D – Enclosures
Irvin Hall, the recitation building of the Liberal Arts College, is nearing completion and should be fully equipped and ready for occupancy in September. This will provide twenty-one class rooms and twenty-one offices now, with additional space later when the south wing is finished. Photo: Irvin Hall – New Recitation Building, ready for occupancy, September 1925
IRVIN HALL - NORTH AND EAST WINGS BUILT IN 1925
IRVIN HALL, ALUMNI LIBRARY, BISHOP HALL, CLOKEY HALL, AND BRICE HALL (LEFT-RIGHT) IN 1925
EXCERPT FROM WARREN ROUDEBUSH’S REMINISCENCES OF OXFORD AND MIAMI UNIVERSITYJane Bourne in conversation with Warren Roudebsuh “(J.B.) Bud, when we moved to McGuffey House, probably, as I remember, it was about the year 1926 or -7 [Ed. Note: Wallace Roudebush purchased the property from Martha Beard on June 20, 1925]. Tell me about the campus then. Tell me about the house itself. I remember Irvin Hall was at the time being built, and wasn’t there something with… inside the doorway? (W.R.) Okay. As you came down past the old library, that is on the east side of it, here on your left all of a sudden was the new building, Irvin Hall. We used to skate down there and… but to pass that by. The first entrance there on the left was a tall areaway or a stairway, but sufficient so that they could hang a three-foot high ceiling, as I recall it, of a Foucault pendulum. And it was fascinating, it’s always fascinating to watch the Foucault pendulum, […]”
CRIMSON TOWERS (Contributed by A. D.) Roofs! Red, tiled house-tops! Crimson! Our glorious Alma Mater! But who was the beneficiary who failed to wholly benefit? Why does the fluted crimson on the roof of Irvin Hall pale suddenly into drab gray? What Miami needs is more crimson. Everyone knows that the slant walk has been taken up and new cement selected as its successor. The old, old crimson bricks have been routed from their ancient resting place and are gone but not forgotten. Let us have a parade and carry, one by one, the discarded slant-walk bricks to the roof of Irvin and thereby regain our crimson. To pave a food would be hardly less commendable than to go on forever with only half a roof and the other half a dirty gray. Sherwin-Williams Company may be glad to make half of the roof of Irvin Hall the starting point in its campaign to “cover the world”. A commercial artist perhaps, of the McIntosh type, could be persuaded to wield a brush on Irvin Hall in behalf of Miami’s peace of mind and Sherwin-Williams products, manufacturing crimson illusions in paint, emulating tiles. No matter how it is done, make all of Irvin roof crimson we must. Our sings already hold a hypocrital twist. Our roofs, our towers are not all crimson against the sky. There is a streak of gray belying our ardent words. Bring on old bricks and deep red paint; we must have crimson.
CAMPUS COMMENT Not so very long ago there was published in the columns of the Miami Student a bit of comment to the effect that the days of chivalry were long since past. The writer of said article went on to say that he had reached this conclusion because students at this great institution were prone to neglect the most common of courtesies – such as holding doors open so that members of the weaker sex might pass unhindered. We wonder??? Last Monday a certain male member of the Miami student body stood at the west door of Irvin Hall for almost a whole minute holding the door so that several girls might pass without exhausting themselves by pushing against said door. Not one of these very feminine students took the time to thank the doorman. It is indeed deplorable that the days of chivalry are long since past. W. G.
RECENSIO INSTALLS PICTURE FACILITIES Appointments Being Made for Individual Pictures of Fraternities and Classes Special lighting fixtures for the taking of pictures for the 1928 Recensio are being installed in the basement of Irvin Hall, according to W. C. Webb, official photographer of the year book. Arrangements have been made for all students to make appointments at the Recensio office to have their pictures taken. Individual photographs of the Senior, Junior, and Sophomore Teachers College classes are required. Group pictures of honorary organizations will be taken later in the year. Work has already started on the book by James Baker, editor, and all students are requested to make their appointments at once so that Mr. Webb may finish his work. A deposit of .50 must be made before any pictures will be taken. This covers the price of two pictures, but fifty cents for each additional picture will be charged.
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