Finding Aid: Smith Building Collection

Finding Aid: Smith Building Collection

Karen Tan

Time: 1876 – 1996 (bulk: 1903-1905)

Place: Beloit, Wisconsin

Overview:

The Smith building was first constructed as a gymnasium to replace the old one that was built in 1876. It is named after the late Elisha D. Smith, whose family donated money to the construction of the gymnasium in his memory. Plans and preparations for the gymnasium began in early 1903, and the groundbreaking ceremony was in September of that year.The dedication of the gymnasium took place during Commencement on June 21, 1904. Its architects were Patton and Miller, who designed the gymnasium to be constructed similarly to the one at Amherst College, and its builders were the Schneiberg Bros.The building contained a swimming pool in the basement, and was also attached to the college’s then-newly built central heating plant in December 1904.

With plans to build a new Field House in 1946, the Smith building gymnasium was later renovated into a Student Union, or a student activity center, in 1957. The college held an open house for the Student Union in May 1957, and the dedication took place in June. The second floor was turned into a ballroom, and the ground floor was turned into a recreation center. By the early 1980s, the mail center and the college bookstore were in the basement level. The funds for this renovation, like the funds used to build the gymnasium, were taken from cash pledges and subscriptions to a gymnasium fund, overseen by the Gymnasium and Heating Plant Committee.

29 years later, in late 1986, the Smith building was renovated again to accommodate the Physical Plant and Print Shop moving in from the 815 College Street buildingwhen it was converted into a residence hall. The former was on the first floor, the latter in the basement, and the second floor was used as storage space.

Two further renovations occurred in 1995 and 1996: first to host the Sesquicentennial Ball on the second floor in early 1996, and then to hold the Wright Museum of Art’s darkroom and studio art components to keep it more of a museum than a classroom. The moving of these facilities into the Smith building was completed in late 1996.As of 2011, the Smith building still contains some of the art department facilities, along with the Physical Plant and Print Shop offices.

Description of Collection:

The Smith building collection consists of one box of materials and several folders of photographs kept in a separate drawer. The box contains both original and photocopied documents, which include plans and specifications for the building, business correspondence, postcards, programs from events, some pictures of the architects’ previous work, newspaper articles, sections from Trustees records, receipts, and treasurer’s records that, besides letters from the architects Patton and Miller, include the many cash subscriptions and pledges made to the gymnasium before and after it was built. The folders of photographs contain color and black and white photos, some of which are paintings of the exterior of the Smith building. While most of the photos are kept in plastic sleeves, the original documents tend to be made up of thin and old papers. Some of the documents are typewritten, and some are handwritten.

Overview of Contents:

The collection contains original and photocopied documents and photographs,covering records of the old 1876 gymnasium up to newspaper articles on the latest use of the Smith building in 1996.The bulk of the collection consists of the original building plans and specifications, and the cash pledges and subscriptions made to the gymnasium. Of note are the correspondences between the architects, the college, and the builders in the “Gymnasium” folder,along with the Trustees records, news articles, and correspondence following the Smith building’s changes from early 1903 to late 1996 in the “History” folder.

The Smith building collection should interest those who wish to look into an aspect of Beloit College’s history through the Round Table, photographs, Trustees and treasurer’s records;the college’s adaptive reuse of buildings to suit its changing needs; how the business of constructing a building was conducted in the 1800s and 1900s; the amount of coordination it takes between groups to put together a building; and some history concerning Beloit, Wisconsin.