MSU renovation preserves, updates historic hall

The design phase of the project is complete, and Doug Sampson, university architect and director of campus planning, said school officials are reviewing construction documents.

The project is slated to be put out for bid in early May, with the expectation that it will be bid by the end of May. The successful bid must be approved by the MSU Board of Governors, which meets June 20, and actual construction is expected to begin in July. The renovation, funded through the Lewis and Clark Initiative, should be complete in time for the fall 2009 semester.

Stripped to the beams

The renovation of Siceluff Hall will begin with gutting the entire building.

“The center stairwell and the stairwells at the ends of the building, we’re going to try to preserve those and keep those as original as we can,” said Project Manager Ken Boatright. “We’re basically going to take everything out except support columns and beams,” he added.

While stairwells and original plaster moldings and friezes will be retained, “it’ll ultimately look like a brand new building when we’re done with it – new mechanical systems, plumbing systems, electrical systems, everything,” Sampson said. “It will, we hope, have that historic character in tune with what the project was when it was originally built.”

Constructed on a concrete frame with an overlay of Carthage stone, Siceluff Hall cost around $300,000 to build in the 1920s and would be prohibitively expensive to build today. MSU construction staff note that the core structure is in excellent shape, and renovating it is a good use of resources for MSU.

“We have the square footage, and this is just updating it to the uses of the university now. It doesn’t create more square footage, so we don’t need more custodians or maintenance staff,” Sampson said. “It just puts the space we have to much better use.”

The new and improved Siceluff Hall will be occupied by two departments of the College of Arts and Letters: English, and modern and classical languages. The renovation will create approximately 24 classrooms, language labs, a large seminar room and offices for faculty and department staff.

The big three

The building now known as Siceluff Hall was the third major structure to be built on the campus of what was then Southwest Missouri State Teachers College.

The first building was Academic Hall, later named Carrington Hall. Construction began in 1907 and went into use in 1909, when the university was still the Fourth District State Normal School. The Normal School became the Teachers College in 1919.

The Education Building, later renamed Hill Hall, was started in 1922 and occupied in 1924, and Siceluff Hall, originally named Science Hall, was started in 1924 and occupied in fall 1927, although construction continued until 1930.

At the time of their construction, Hill and Siceluff halls were widely hailed as setting the standard for excellence in academic facility design, with much credit being given to President C.M. Hill, who planned both structures.

According to “Shrine of the Ozarks,” by former university President Roy Ellis, Science Hall was renovated in 1957 at a cost of $100,000.

The building was renovated again in 1972, when the science department moved to Temple Hall, and it was renamed for longtime educator Harry Siceluff in 1975.

A program of exterior renovations including tuck-pointing, waterproofing and new windows was completed in 2004. The building was used for a variety of programs in the years after the science department moved, most recently the College of Public Affairs, which moved to Strong Hall during the 1996–97 school year, Sampson said.

Since then, Siceluff Hall has housed various classes and departments on a temporary basis while awaiting funds for the interior renovation. [[In-content Ad]]