Blue Ridge
Excerpt from Building A College: An Architectural History of Berea College[1]
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Blue Ridge, 1916-1917
Architects: Frederick W. Garber and Clifford B. Woodward, Cincinnati, OH
Ground Broken: August 23, 1916
Cost: $36,500
The Prudential Committee authorized this dormitory for Vocational School men on August 12, 1916. Ground was broken on the far eastern section of the Foundation School Campus on August 23, 1916. Construction began at the same time as that for the College Hospital that was but a few hundred feet west. Both projects followed the construction of Talcott Hall which had been the first structure of a Frost proposed nine building- scheme to be built on the Vocational Industrial and Foundation School Campus. For health reasons, President Frost and his wife were away from campus for much of the time that Blue Ridge was being built and less written material can be found regarding its construction. George Gibbs reported to the Olmsted Associates that after seeing Frost in the hospital, Frost "seemed to have lost sight of our recommendations of a general plan and in fact could not think in terms of a general plan" (Olmsted report of March 16, 1917).
Opening for occupancy during the fall of 1917, Blue Ridge Men's Dormitory was designed to be fire-proof and stood 45 feet south of Cumberland Hall. Cumberland was a wooden replica of Blue Ridge (one hundred twenty-four by thirty-nine feet). The Prudential Committee had hoped Blue Ridge would be ready for occupancy by December (PCM, August 12, 1916). Garber and Woodward used red brick in Flemish bond and brick string courses and quoins. The third floor windows rest on a string-course but the first and second floor windows are arched. All windows have limestone lintels. The asymmetrical east main entrance is surrounded by brick Doric pilasters that support a classically designed wooden entablature and opens under a bowed pediment. The basement in common bond is partly above ground. Slate provided by a company in Easton, PA, was purchased for the roofs, concrete floors were poured, and steam heat was piped from the Power Plant off Walnut Meadow Pike. However, because the floors were cold the college bought small rugs for each room (PCM, September 29, 1916; December 6, 1917). The faculty apartment opened onto the south lawn from an elaborate arched and fan lit doorway. Along with other buildings, Blue Ridge was rewired in the fall of 1951 and had extensive renovations completed during the summer of 1969 and again in 1988.
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[1] Citation: Boyce, Robert Piper. Building A College: An Architectural History of Berea College. Self-published. Berea, Ky: Berea College Printing Services, 2006, p39-40.
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Works Cited
Boyce, Robert Piper. Building A College: An Architectural History of Berea College. Self-published. Berea, Ky: Berea College Printing Services, 2006, p39-40.
BLue Ridge. Print image. Boyce, Robert Piper. Building A College: An Architectural History of Berea College. Self-published. Berea, Ky: Berea College Printing Services, 2006, p40.
