herr2ck: City Within a City

September 2025.

Medical campus is one of the densest, most sprawling areas of campus, and one that is going through rapid change. I had planned to cover each building individually at first, but after realizing I didn’t want to devote my entire life to this hobby project of mine, I decided to simply stick with the ones that I thought were interesting. This is mainly for two reasons, which I mentioned in an earlier post:

The architecture of med campus is less remarkable, and the earliest existing buildings date to the 1920s-1930s
These aren’t buildings whose interiors I can freely explore like I can on main campus

Medical campus was created as the two colleges at the time, Medicine and Dentistry, began to move from downtown Columbus onto Ohio State’s campus. In 1914, the university acquired Starling Medical College and Ohio Medical University, which was how these departments were founded. A small “homeopathic hospital” was established in the old South Dormitory until Starling-Loving Hall was built as the first structure on the campus.

The basic gist of med campus is the area bordered by John Herrick Drive to the north, 8th Avenue to the south, Neil Avenue to the east, and Cannon Drive to the west. I’ll cover each interesting building more concisely in this catch-all post, sorted by date of construction.

Starling-Loving Hall/Homeopathic Hospital [partially demolished]

Starling-Loving Hall was the first, and until very recently the oldest existing building on what would become med campus. The original building was a pretty straightforward Collegiate Gothic design, but over time its footprint expanded drastically. Portions of the complex still stand; however, much of it has recently been demolished.

Postcard of the original, recently demolished portion of the Homeopathic Hospital. (Historic Campus Map)

Starling-Loving Hall was designed as the “Homeopathic Hospital Building” by university architect Joseph N. Bradford in 1915, intended to serve as a purpose-built structure for the hospital that had been established in the old South Dormitory. Its construction began that November by Dawson Construction Co., and the building was opened and dedicated on January 12, 1917. This portion was designed in the Collegiate Gothic style, with a concrete and steel frame clad in brick.

First (right) and second (left) additions to Starling Loving Hospital. (Wexner Medical Center on Facebook)

Starling-Loving Hall’s first addition is the only existing portion of the building today; and it extended westward from the original building, being attached by a small connector. It was also designed by Joseph N. Bradford in 1924, and its construction began that April. The addition was completed by March 1926. It is likewise in the Collegiate Gothic style, but the design is much different, featuring more industrial bay windows and grotesques. This portion became the original university hospital, and it was renamed from “Homeopathic Hospital” to “Starling Loving Hospital” at this time.

A second addition was being designed by Bradford while the first was under construction, and its own construction began in March 1926. It was completed a year later in April 1927. The second addition was a direct extension to the north end of the original building, again being in the Collegiate Gothic style but having different aesthetic features. At this point, the hospital had 296 beds, an operating amphitheater, a maternity department, and outpatient clinic.

Looking northwest at Howard Dwight Smith’s addition to Starling Loving Hospital. (Knowlton Archives)

Starling-Loving Hall’s third addition was designed by university architect Howard Dwight Smith in 1935. It was built by the WPA starting in November 1935, and the addition was likely completed by June 1938. Once again, it had a Collegiate Gothic design.

I want to emphasize that even though I roast a lot of other campus buildings with crappy Modernist or Contemporary additions that clash with each other, this one is no exception, despite each addition adhering to the same style. At this point, every portion of the building had different organizational and aesthetic approaches. The original building was very simple and unadorned, only featuring some peaked dormers and an oriel window at the corner entry. The first addition has a gabled roof, a highly decorated center entrance, a very dematerialized top floor with its large bay windows, and a faux half-timbered connection to the original. The second addition had a crenellated parapet above a flat roof and decorated spandrels above the third floor windows. The third addition was very busy in its massing, and it had uniquely styled entrances and bay windows. Each has a different method of fenestration, materiality (based on the black-and-white photos, every addition uses a different color of brick, and some have masonry bases and courses while others lack them), and height.

The fourth addition was one I couldn’t find any pictures of, and it was a simple one-story unit that filled the space between the original building and first addition. It was designed by university architect Hollie W. Shupe in 1969, likely in the Mid-Century Modern style, and completed by 1971.

I guess the east side appears more cohesive now, but it’s a very banal portion that likely was not meant to be exposed:

I wonder if the clearly more recent entrance module was also done by RAMSA. It seems to match the neo-Collegiate Gothic aesthetic of Hamilton Hall’s addition immediately east.

The north facade is really neat:

There’s something unique about the fusion of Collegiate Gothic architecture with industrial aesthetics, as seen on the fourth floor’s massive windows. It gives me Frankenstein’s lab vibes for some reason.

This entrance is much like Hamilton Hall’s, but it has slight openwork on either pier and the building’s name carved into a lintel above the portal:

Mmm…sooty Gothic details…

The third-floor windows have a blind arch above with a floral keystone:

A closer look at the top floor:

Note the pinnacles on the piers, the metal dormers on the roof, and the grotesques sitting on top of the piers. Here’s a better look, though the sun was right in my eyes here:

The west facade is mostly obscured by this tree and not interesting, but the entrance is cool.

More of the bland southern portion:

What’s up with the fenestration? Every window is a different width, height, and era. The bottom two floors seem to be mid-century aluminum frames, while the ones above look like contemporary, traditional replacements.

Kinsman Hall [demolished]

Historic photo of Kinsman Hall and its greenhouse. (Knowlton Archives)

Kinsman Hall was a small, relatively bare Collegiate Gothic building that was demolished relatively early in med campus’s history. It was designed by university architect Joseph N. Bradford in 1921, and its construction began that May. Kinsman Hall was completed by October 1922. The building was designed in the Collegiate Gothic style, with a brick exterior and fireproof interior, and the south wing was a greenhouse. It served as the home of “homeopathic science” and animal research.

Kinsman Hall’s demolition was approved by the Board of Trustees in November 1962, and it was completed by April 1963. Prior Hall stands on the site today.

State Health Laboratory [demolished]

The fourth building on med campus was the State Health Laboratory, another Collegiate Gothic building. It was built for and owned by the State Department of Health and was located west of Kinsman Hall, about where the green space in the middle of the Westpark Street turnaround is today.

Elevations of the State Health Laboratory. (Historic Campus Map)

The State Health Laboratory was designed by Robert Schildknecht, the State Architect and Engineer, in 1940. Its construction began around January 1941, and the date of completion is unknown. However, its dedication was scheduled for March 1941. A Collegiate Gothic design, it had a concrete frame and brick exterior.

The State Health Laboratory was demolished in January 1972.

Postle Hall/Dentistry Building

The Dentistry Building under construction (middle). Note that Jennings Hall’s addition is as well at the same time. (Historic Campus Map)

After a hiatus of ten years between any new buildings on med campus, and 20 of any designed by the university, Postle Hall was completed. It was designed by Skidmore, Owings, and Merrill as the “Dentistry Building” in 1947. It was built beginning in March 1948, along with University Hospital, and the College of Dentistry began moving in December 1950. Postle Hall was the first Mid-Century Modern design on med campus.

Postle Hall’s first addition extends northwards from the original building. It was designed by Dan Carmichael in a similar Mid-Century Modern style in 1957. The addition’s construction began in October 1957, and it was fully completed by May 1959.

East side of Postle Hall, featuring the third addition. (Historic Campus Map)

Postle Hall’s second addition is a fourth floor on top of the original SOM design. It was designed by Karlsberger & Associates in 1964, and its construction took place from 1965-1966. A third addition was designed by university architect Hollie W. Shupe in 1970, which spanned the east side of the original building and first addition. Its construction occurred between 1971 and 1973.

More recently, a much different Contemporary addition was added to the northeast end of Postle Hall, which replaced part of the third addition. It was designed by RAMSA (design) and DesignGroup (record), and its construction took place between 2018-2020.

Postle Hall was named after Wendell Postle.

Looking at the northeast corner:

RAMSA’s Collegiate Gothic-esque addition:

Definitely a more abstracted New Traditional approach. Here’s another view:

South end--note the more contemporary black windows:

Doan Hall/University Hospital

Doan Hall is such a large and complicated building that I’m not even going to bother with all the additions that have taken place to it. Medical architecture is not really my field of interest, and it’s getting a little tedious writing out asinine details like this. Nine additions have occurred since its construction.

University Hospital as it originally appeared. (Historic Campus Map)

Doan Hall was designed by Skidmore, Owings, and Merrill as the “University Hospital” in 1947. Its construction began in March 1948, and the hospital’s dedication was held on May 15, 1951. It was built in the Mid-Century Modern style, honestly a superior interpretation from a lot of other garbage on main campus from that era.

Doan Hall still stands, but the SOM design has mostly been obscured by a 1975 addition that matches the original building’s height. This portion consists of the south facade today:

However, on the north end a little bit of the Modernist facade is visible:

Upham Hall/Psychiatric Hospital [demolished]

Original SOM building. (Historic Campus Map)

Upham Hall was built for the Ohio Department of Public Welfare, which the Board of Trustees voted to allow a receiving hospital to be built for them. It was again designed by Skidmore, Owings, and Merrill, and though construction details aren’t present in John Herrick’s report, the hospital was dedicated on December 5, 1951. It was a simple Mid-Century Modern design. An addition was built onto the north side between 1959 and 1963, which was designed by Brown, Brubaker, and Brandt. At that time, Ohio State took ownership of the building.

Upham Hall was demolished in 1998 for the construction of Harding Hospital and the Davis Heart and Lung Research Institute.

Means Hall/Tuberculosis Hospital [demolished]

View of the entire medical center complex. Clockwise from right: Doan Hall, Kinsman Hall, State Health Lab, Means Hall, Upham Hall. (Historic Campus Map)

Means Hall was designed in 1947 by Skidmore, Owings, and Merrill. Its construction was completed by December 1951, and it was eventually transferred to Ohio State by the end of 1967.

South facade. (Historic Campus Map)

Means Hall was demolished in 2010 for the construction of the Comprehensive Cancer Care Building.

Demolition of Means Hall. (Wexner Medical Center Expansion blog)

Brain & Spine Hospital/Cancer Hospital and Research Institute

At this point, we leave John Herrick’s well-written histories in the past and enter “whatever else I could find on the internet” land. The Brain & Spine Hospital was designed in 1983 by NBBJ as the “Cancer Hospital and Research Institute.” Its construction began in August 1984 and the building was dedicated on September 11, 1987. It has a steel frame with a brick exterior and was designed in the Postmodern style. It was renamed in 2016 after the hospital’s current function, and a renovation updated the aging facility that year.

It seems small up close, but it’s head and shoulders above most of the surrounding buildings:

Column detail:

Harding Hospital/Neuroscience Facility

Harding Hospital is my favorite recent work of architecture on med campus. It was designed as the “Neuroscience Facility” by DesignGroup in 1990. The building’s construction took place between 1991 and 1994. It is a Postmodern design, with a concrete frame and brick exterior. It is used for inpatient mental health care.

The odd angles and windows of this building are cool to me:

Detail of a chamfered portion with windows:

The northeast corner is one story higher:

Biomedical Research Tower

I had, in fact, constantly overlooked this building for being so ugly, but it was actually designed by Venturi, Scott Brown and Associates (Robert Venturi and Denise Scott Brown’s firm) and completed in 2006. It has labs, research facilities, and a vivarium. Three of its floors were left empty to allow for future expansion. Even VSA writes the plan and exterior are meant to be generic, and my theory professor says it is an example of a “decorated shed,” one of Venturi’s distinctions between vernacular architectural expression. A “duck” is a novelty building, like a roadside gas station built to look like a teapot, while a “decorated shed” might be a false-front Wild West general store. Its gridded windows also may refer to and critique Eisenman’s Wexner Center elsewhere on campus.

The east and west facades are gray and almost Modern in expression:

The north and south facades have brick and much more irregular fenestration:

Corner:

Another view of the distinction between primary and secondary facades:

Wonky Postmodern gate:

Medical Center Tower/New University Hospital

The massive Medical Center Tower began sprouting up during my first few years at Ohio State. It was designed from 2018-2020 by Henningson, Durham, & Richardson in the Contemporary style. Its construction has been taking place since 2020 and is set to be completed by early 2026. With 1.9 million square feet of space and 820 private rooms, it is meant to serve the growing Columbus population. The design incorporates more recent attitudes about architecture, such as abundant natural light.

This thing is just mind-boggling in scale. It makes the already-tall buildings elsewhere on campus look tiny:

Back at it again with the Neo-Modernism…beyond the expression of alternating piers and glass strips, the building lifts off the ground on piloti above a recessed lobby area: