herr2ck: Crayons & Coloring Books

September 2025.

It’s a running joke at Ohio State (and across the Gen-Z college kid spectrum) to make fun of business majors and what people perceive as their easy courseload. There’s a stereotype for business majors to be vapid, fratty dudes who twiddle their thumbs in class and drink all day. I’ll defend accounting to the death since my mom is an accountant and my girlfriend majors in it, but I honestly never have been fond of the other business school umbrella. My coursework sucks, why should theirs be so easy?! I hate walking past Fisher to get to Knowlton and all the finance majors are at recess.

The Fisher School of Business’ mini-campus is located on the north side of campus. Since these buildings are all pretty similar and were built at the same time, I’ll just cover them all here instead of giving them individual articles. I’ll discuss the history of the complex, then I’ll start with Fisher Hall and work my way clockwise.

Fisher College of Business

The Fisher College of Business (Fisher from here on out) was founded in 1916 as the “College of Commerce and Journalism.” Its first home was Hagerty Hall, completed in 1924, and in 1960 the college moved to adjacent Page Hall. In 1993, the college was renamed after Max Fisher, who coordinated a $20 million donation.

Early rendering of the Fisher campus. The end product is similar, minus the expression of several buildings. (Historic Campus Map)

The planning process for Fisher’s new campus began c. 1993. It consists of six buildings arranged as a microcosm of the larger Ohio State campus. The project architects were Kallman, McKinnell, & Wood and Cooper Robinson, while the architect of record was Karlsberger Architecture. The construction process spanned from 1996-2002, as every building was completed within that window. Interestingly, the site is where Max Fisher’s house was while he studied at Ohio State. While it was parking lots from the early 1960s until the construction of Fisher, it was a typical residential streetscape beforehand.

The general scheme for the buildings is a Postmodern design that follows Ohio State’s master plan (four-story brick buildings) and traditional massing of collegiate architecture. The similar aesthetic design across the complex unites it as a single composition, as does the matching heights and fenestration of each building.

Fisher Hall

Fisher Hall (middle). (Historic Campus Map)

Fisher Hall is the tallest and most prominent building of the college. Standing ten stories high, it serves as a visual anchor and is on axis with Neil Avenue and Thompson Library to the south. It mainly serves as offices, but also includes “research and business partnership centers.” It is bordered by Neil Avenue and the Lane Avenue Garage to the north, the campus’s green space to the south, Gerlach Hall to the east, and the Blackwell to the west.

Fisher Hall was designed by Kallmann, McKinnell, & Wood and Cooper Robinson between 1994 and 1995. Its construction began in April 1996, and the building was completed on August 3, 1998. With a steel frame and brick exterior, Fisher Hall is a Postmodern design.

South facade from Woodruff Avenue:

The green space and quasi-colonnade:

These features show the Postmodern design’s classical influence, as the green space is placed on-axis with Fisher Hall’s entrance. Here’s a closer look at the bays and windows above:

Much of the facade is masonry, with smaller rectangular windows:

Fisher is actually articulated in the same “base-shaft-capital” manner as a Gilded Age skyscraper, with its columned base and projecting metal cornice.

This cornice and its brackets are certainly inspired by those of Italianate architecture:

Here’s a closer look:

A nicely lit view of the entrance vestibule:

Note the varying brickwork across the columns and piers, as well as the coffered cement panels above.

A little off-center, but the east and west facades have a portion that projects outward from the main wall plane:

What confounds me is why part of Fisher suddenly turns into a four-story building like the rest of the complex. I think this takes away from the tower’s purity:

I started inside by the south entrance, which has this medallion in the floor:

Fancy wood paneling! The business school is pretty bougie.

The north side has wooden columns and an atrium to below (note they are polygonal, not circular, as is Mason Hall’s tower):

Also notice that it is deflected to accommodate the axis of the Neil Avenue entrance.

The floor above has the same columns, but the atrium stops at the first floor:

Much of Fisher Hall is offices and the headquarters of several business school departments:

More fancy wood above the south entrance:

Dean’s office and vaulted ceiling:

Gerlach Hall/Gerlach Graduate Programs Building

Gerlach Hall is bordered by Neil Avenue to the north, Schoenbaum and Mason Halls to the south, Norton House to the east, and Fisher Hall to the west. Like its western neighbor, it was designed by Kallmann, McKinnell, & Wood and Cooper Robinson. As part of the same phase of the project, Gerlach Hall’s dates of construction and completion are the same. However, it stands only four stories tall, unlike the lofty Fisher Hall. It is the main home of Fisher’s grad school classes, plus a “batten investment laboratory” and the Office of Career Management.

Gerlach Hall was named after John “Bernie” Gerlach, a former Board Chair of the Ohio State Foundation and a Columbus businessman.

Blank west facade, aside from a bay window:

The north facade has a very symmetrical approach, with the entrance exactly in the center:

Note how the cornice is broken where the bay window is:

It’s definitely abstracted, but the orthogonal windows with spandrels are clearly informed by history:

East facade:

Gateway between Gerlach and Schoenbaum:

Like the other four-story buildings, Gerlach is crowned with a corbelled brick cornice. I like the texture it achieves despite its simplicity.

The south facade is probably the best-known area of the building:

Nice perspectival effect in the loggia:

Cool shadows, too:

This portion is a clear recreation of a classical colonnade, but the out-of-scale overhang above is a little odd:

The western remainder is similar to the rest of the building.

Entrance vestibule and seal:

Graduate program headquarters (shoutout MAcc):

Why are these ceilings so high?

Looking out over the graduate study lounge and through the colonnade windows:

Schoenbaum Hall/Schoenbaum Undergraduate Program Building

Interior of one of the buildings in the complex as built. (I just thought it was cool and was missing an image.) (KMW)

Schoenbaum Hall is bordered by Gerlach Hall to the north, Woodruff Avenue and Hitchcock Hall to the south, Mendoza House to the east, and Mason Hall to the west. The building was part of the second phase of the project, and as such it was designed by Karlsberger Architecture between 1994 and 1996. Schoenbaum Hall’s construction began in August 1997, and it was completed two years later on August 20, 1999. Built for the undergrad programs at Fisher, it includes an auditorium, career counseling, and student services.

Schoenbaum Hall was named after Alex and Betty Schoenbaum, founders of Shoney’s Restaurant and donors to Ohio State.

Similar L-shape as Gerlach, but no fancy colonnade:

Another detail I just now noticed is the downspouts aligning on-center with the space between bays:

More of the same:

Schoenbaum’s main entrance is on the south side, unlike the others:

Note the same cornice-breaking move as Gerlach:

It jogs a bit in plan here, which is weird:

Why does Fisher have such an obsession with floor seals?

I promise I’m not short, these ceilings are just extra tall here:

I also like these built-in benches, even if they seem a little uncomfortable:

Mason Hall

Mason Hall (right). (KMW)

Mason Hall’s prominent turret is a focal point of its surroundings, given that it rises above the roofline of the remaining buildings. It is bordered by Gerlach Hall to the north, Woodruff Avenue and Hitchcock Hall to the south, Schoenbaum Hall to the east, and Pfahl Hall to the west. Mason Hall was designed by Kallmann, McKinnell, & Wood and Cooper Robinson between 1994 and 1996. Its construction also began in August 1997, but it was completed slightly later, in September 1999.

Mason Hall seems to be the most visitor-centric building in the campus. It houses space on the fourth floor for executives, while the fancy Rohr Cafe (which serves Starbucks coffee, not the swill OSU gives us otherwise) is on the ground floor. Other uses include a computer lab and library.

Mason Hall was named after Raymond Mason, who I couldn’t find any information about. It’s too common of a name for internet searches to narrow it down, and none of my other sources mention anything about him.

The south facade is similar to Schoenbaum, but smaller:

West facade, which forms the east boundary of the green in front of Fisher Hall:

The iconic geometric tower:

Note how it is not a true circle, but rather a polygon with several edges instead.

The rest of the building is pretty similar to the others in the campus:

Northwest lobby inside:

The middle doors inside lead to a room inside the tower.

Staircase:

Phone cameras are nowhere near as good as the Apple commercials make them seem, but every so often a crispy photo like this one of a little nook happens:

Much of the classroom section looks like this:

Nice double-height lecture hall in the tower:

Pfahl Hall/Pfahl Executive Education Building

Another part of the second phase of the Fisher Campus, Pfahl Hall shares the same details as Mason Hall. It is bordered by the Blackwell to the north, Woodruff Avenue and Knowlton Hall to the south, Mason Hall to the east, and Tuttle Park Place to the west. The John Herrick Archives (not Herrick himself, as he died before these buildings were built) says it was dedicated in October 1999 but completed in January 2000.

Pfahl Hall’s purpose is rather unclear to me. I don’t know what “executive education” is (feel free to correct me in the comments), but its program seems to revolve around that. It also houses classrooms, offices, and the 2110 Restaurant.

Pfahl Hall was named after John Pfahl, a former professor of finance and chair of the Department of Finance within Fisher.

Southeast corner:

Note the semi-quoined base and corners:

Not sure what’s up with this little two-story box. It breaks the unity of the rest of the building.

Southwest--note the hipped roof:

Lower entrances:

Massive windows here:

The north facade has more regular windows:

Entrance and massive metal awning above:

These odd, empty niches have always intrigued me.

The Blackwell/Blackwell Inn

Since the Blackwell is an operating hotel, I can’t really take many pictures there. I’ll still include it, but my coverage won’t be as detailed. The Blackwell is bordered by Neil Avenue and the Lane Avenue Garage to the north, Pfahl Hall to the south, Fisher Hall to the east, and Tuttle Park Place and Converse Hall to the west. It was designed between 1999 and 2000 by Karlsberger Architecture, and its construction began in August 2000. The Blackwell opened in June 2002.

The Blackwell is the only hotel on Ohio State’s campus. I have stayed there once (it was really bougie), and the valet lost my car keys, so the staff were all bending over backwards for me afterwards. I also went to the Athletic Band’s Spring Fling on two different occasions, which was held in the second floor’s banquet hall. One summer I applied to be a cook in the kitchens there, and I got to tour the entire basement/kitchen. (I ended up not taking the job because the pay sucked, and I would have had to do stupid odd jobs like setting up banquets and cleaning rooms.)

The Blackwell was named after Roger Blackwell, a marketing professor who owns a consulting firm in Columbus. A former Board Chair of the Ohio State Foundation, he donated $7 million to the university in 2001.

Main facade and giant porte-cochere: