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Inside Iowa State, a newspaper for faculty and staff, is published by the Office of University Relations.

July 2, 2004

Salvage, demolition of EO building to begin
July 5

by Anne Krapfl

Demolition of the English Office Building (EOB), south of Beardshear Hall, is on schedule to begin Monday, July 5, and should be completed by the end of the month.

Project manager Kerry Dixon-Fox, facilities planning, said sidewalks in the area will be closed during the demolition to protect pedestrians. These will include sidewalks on the south and east side of EOB and could include the sidewalk between Beardshear and EOB. The plaza west of EOB also may be off limits temporarily.

Some items will be saved

Although earlier efforts to find salvage markets for the building failed, some parts of the building now will be saved. Leaders at the ISU Alumni Association have asked for specific pieces of the building, including the decorative exterior window tops, porches, some six-panel doors, and several decorative panels and the mantel on the east exterior. The association, which moves to temporary offices in Fisher-Nickell hall on the east side of campus in early July, is in the planning stage for its own facility.

The salvage work will occur the first week in July; demolition will follow.

Scheduled for removal a century ago

The "Office Building" was built in 1885 as offices for the university president, treasurer and secretary. It was scheduled to come down in 1905 to complete grading for the new building next door that we know as Beardshear Hall, but it remained. Over the years, it has been home to the bookstore, music department, part of the English department and International Education Services. It took its current name in 1940. Its most recent tenants, a dozen faculty members in the College of Business, moved to the Gerdin Business Building in December.

Campus master plans dating back to the mid-1960s have slated the building for demolition. The building does not meet fire and accessibility codes.

Summary

Demolition of the nearly 120-year-old English Office Building is scheduled to begin July 5. The ISU Alumni Association has asked for some exterior decorative elements of the building.