herr2ck: The Black Sheep

Photos from November-December 2024.

Sullivant Hall is a rare example of Beaux-Arts architecture in its purest form, unrestricted by Ohio State’s master plan. (Anecdotally, from my architecture history professor, all campus buildings are required to be built of brick. This appears to be true of the vast majority of extant buildings.) The reason it was presumably allowed to be so unwaveringly classical is that it was not originally occupied by the university.

Sullivant Hall is the furthest east building along the Oval. It is bordered by Mershon Auditorium to the north, the Union to the south, High Street to the east, and Page Hall and the Oval to the west.

History

The Ohio State Archaeological and Historical Society Building prior to 1926. (Buckeye Stroll)

Sullivant Hall was originally built as a museum for the Ohio State Archaeological and Historical Society (now the Ohio History Connection), but it was allowed to stand on campus and was designed by the university architect. The original building was the portion that lines High Street today. It was designed by university architect Joseph N. Bradford in the Beaux-Arts style in 1911. Construction started in 1912 by Dawson Construction Co., the cornerstone was laid at the beginning of the school year, and it was dedicated on May 30, 1914. While it has a standard steel frame, the exterior is dressed completely in limestone, an unusual move for Ohio State campus architecture.

The Ohio State Archaeological and Historical Society Building’s original footprint.

The north wing addition in 1925. Hey, there’s TBDBITL! (Buckeye Stroll)

In 1921, Bradford was commissioned to design an addition, which projected from the original building at a 90 degree angle and faced north. This addition was built starting in 1922 by D. W. McGrath & Sons, and the structure was dedicated on April 6, 1926.

The Ohio State Archaeological and Historical Society Building’s footprint after its first addition.

Immediately afterwards a second addition was designed, which added a similar southern wing, though it was slightly shorter. I couldn’t find any historic photos, but it appears almost identical to the north wing today, so that was probably the case when it was built. The second addition began construction in March 1928, executed by Robert H. Evans Co., and concluded in early 1929.

The Ohio State Archaeological and Historical Society Building’s footprint as of 1929.

The third addition under construction in 1948. (Buckeye Stroll)

A third addition was designed by Sims, Cornelius, and Schooley (Schooley Caldwell’s predecessor) in 1948, and it was built that year by Sheaf Construction Co. It filled the central void created by the two prior additions and brought the structure to a full rectangle. This addition brought the building to a total of 96,751 net assignable square feet.

Sullivant Hall’s current footprint.

A postcard of the Ohio State Archaeological and Historical Society Museum, undated. (CML)

In 1970, the Ohio Historical Society transferred Sullivant Hall to the university, after it moved to the Brutalist Ohio History Center along I-71. It was renamed to its current title and presumably housed a library and undergraduate service center, according to an anachronistic alternative name. Since then, the building has been extensively modified. It was renovated shortly after by university architect Hollie W. Shupe in 1973, and again in 1991 to remodel the auditorium and add space for the Department of Dance.

Most recently, Sullivant Hall was renovated by Acock Associates in 2014. This renovation added the current glass curtain wall on the north colonnade and removed the stairs leading up to the entries on the north and east sides. Sullivant Hall currently houses the Department of Dance, the Department of Arts Administration, Education, and Policy, the Advanced Computing Center for the Arts and Design, the Lawrence and Isabel Barnett Center for Integrated Arts and Enterprise, and the Billy Ireland Cartoon Library.

Joseph Sullivant in 1878. (University Archives)

Sullivant Hall is named after Joseph Sullivant, who was a member of the Ohio Board of Education. He was the son of Lucas Sullivant, one of the first Franklin County settlers who incorporated the town of Franklinton (now part of Columbus). Joseph Sullivant, taking after his father, lobbied successfully to have the Ohio Agricultural and Mechanical College located in Columbus. He was on the Board of Trustees from 1870 to 1878, where he called for the university to teach subjects beyond agriculture and mechanics, and designed Ohio State’s original seal.

Billy Ireland Cartoon Library History

The Billy Ireland Cartoon Library was founded at Ohio State in 1977 as the Library for Communication and Graphic Arts, then located inside two classrooms inside the Journalism Building. Much of its collection has been gathered through donations--its first items were from the collection of alumnus Milton Caniff, author of the Terry and the Pirates and Steve Canyon comic strips. By 1989, the library outgrew the Journalism Building, requiring storage off-site, and it was renamed to the Cartoon Research Library.

The museum’s collection grew rapidly over the years, and in 2009 it was named after Billy Ireland, an Ohio cartoonist. This was done in recognition of an anonymous donation that enabled renovation of Sullivant Hall, which expanded the galleries and storage areas.

Billy Ireland working at the Dispatch, undated. (Columbus Dispatch)

Billy Ireland (1880-1935) was a Chillicothe native who worked for the Columbus Dispatch for his entire life, starting after his high school graduation. He wrote editorial cartoons and his original strip The Passing Show, which poked fun at local news, politics, and Ohio State’s football team. Ireland was something of a local celebrity, and he was well known for mentoring budding cartoonists at the Dispatch.

Billy Ireland’s “Carmen Ohio” character. (Columbus Dispatch)

Photos

I had briefly visited Sullivant Hall in the past and remembered its large atrium (keep reading…), but after going through the building with a fine-toothed comb, I was thoroughly blown away by the detail and quality of architecture. I started with the main facade:

Note how the original stairs have been removed in favor of a more accessible entrance. It is also unusual how Sullivant Hall faces High Street, due to its earlier program. The central projection:

The cornice is in the Ionic order, just like the rest of the building. Note the dentils.

The High Street entrance up close:

Note the faux windows on either side of the doorway. I like the way this part is proportioned and articulated, and I particularly enjoy the arched entrance:

It’s a shame this isn’t the main entrance anymore, the detail certainly brings it out. I love the vaulting, but the muntins and ornament of the transom window are even better.

An Ionic column--the lines are not carved ornament, rather anti-bird spikes:

Good ol’ three-dimensionality.

The north facade, all the way from Mershon Auditorium:

Here, the original stone wall has been done away with in favor of massive glass windows, creating a more dematerialized facade. I don’t hate it, but I still prefer the original.

On the west side, the ornate Beaux-Arts architecture yields to a more staunch Stripped Classicism look:

This addition was designed in 1948…I’m surprised a classical facade was even done at all, regardless of its more abstracted nature. It might have been Schooley Caldwell’s decision, though, and considering they are one of Columbus’ largest firms dealing in preservation, it would track. Going in blindfolded, I would have guessed 1920s or 1930s.

Datestone:

Rad font--looks straight out of a noir film.

The south facade unfortunately abuts a parking garage, but the light hit it in a most pleasing way on the November day I first visited:

I got on top of that parking garage for this detail of the cornice and capitals:

I entered through the west door, which was probably a mistake, since that’s where the “backrooms” area of the building is and not the actually interesting part. It kind of defeated the architect’s original intention.

Apparently the building is getting a systems upgrade:

This is the inside of one of the departments located on the ground floor, maybe the Barnett Center?

After finally getting to the lobby, I had to bust out my camera…because holy s@#$:

Now that is one grand and beautiful atrium. Architecture of this caliber is not really seen on campus much--even Thompson Library wasn’t built with anything like this. The first floor is unornamented, continuing up to plaster Ionic anta capitals (which I have yet to see anywhere else on campus) supporting a smaller denticulated cornice, and finally an arcade on the third floor.

It was tough shooting straight up…here’s the best I could do:

A Neoplasticist art glass window, featuring cartoon panels, and looking into the storage for the Billy Ireland Cartoon Museum:

The ground floor’s stair detailing -- pretty standard for buildings of this era:

The atrium again from the first floor, facing the original entrance:

Even the balusters are crazy detailed:

Check out those marble stairs and the terrazzo floor, too…bet that wasn’t cheap. Now for my favorite part, the arch action on the third floor:

The skylight:

I have no clue if it is backlit or actually open to the elements, but my money would be on the former. Regardless, it is a lovely detail on a great building. Let’s head back down to the second floor and keep exploring. This was pretty standard fare for the hallways…spacious and bright, but not open to the outside:

The second floor has the main exhibit space for the museum (featured later on in this post) and lecture halls. I went up to the third floor and immediately noticed this dark space:

I didn’t go inside because there was some sort of dance rehearsal happening, but during my first time in the building, the event I attended was performed there. As you can see, it’s named after the same people:

On the west wall is this odd brick wall with an old window in the middle of it:

I believe it is one of the old windows that faced west before the 1949 addition enclosed it. I always like seeing original features preserved like this. (Other examples I’ve seen so far on campus are Pomerene Hall and University Hall.)

The second floor’s south side has ACCAD (the Advanced Computing Center for the Arts and Design):

On the ACCAD side, the walls are lined with autographed movie posters:

That open door leads to a control room for the Barnett Theatre…someone is manning the controls just out of view here:

The west side houses the Department of Dance. Here is one of the dance floors, featuring the typical mirrors:

Another, with some funky equipment:

Billy Ireland Cartoon Library Photos

The Billy Ireland Cartoon Library is on the north side of Sullivant Hall, and it can be easily accessed through the north entrance. Here’s the adjacent atrium:

Billy Ireland’s desk and a Passing Show strip:

The downstairs reading room and its art glass:

I happened to get to the museum right as it opened, so I was alone inside for a bit. The exhibits are interesting and they rotate in and out for variety. It is definitely a hidden gem on campus and something to do if you have time to kill.

Chester Gould’s (the author of Dick Tracy) drawing board:

Probably my favorite part of the museum--original Calvin and Hobbes cartoons:

An example of The Passing Show…here, Ireland pokes fun at hairstyles of the late 1910s, Chic Harley’s graduation, local politics, and suggests fixing a housing shortage on north campus by drilling holes into the facade of Ohio Stadium. (Ironically, the Stadium Scholarship dormitory was literally located under the stadium’s bleachers, built only ~15 years later.)

An early Peanuts strip:

This is the space for the temporary exhibitions:

When I visited, it displayed the cartoons of The New Yorker cartoonist Edward Koren. He began drawing cartoons for Columbia University’s humor magazine during his time there, and he published his first cartoon in The New Yorker in 1962. Koren continued to write until his death in 2023. Many of his works were political, but they parodied the issues of the middle class, rather than taking a specific party’s stance. I found many of his comics on display humorous, but I particularly enjoyed his shaky art style and how he drew architecture: