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.
