Starkweather Hall, also known as Starkweather Religious Center, is a religious and educational building located at 901 West Forest Avenue in

Ypsilanti, Michigan Ypsilanti (), commonly shortened to Ypsi, is a city in Washtenaw County in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2020 census, the city's population was 20,648. The city is bounded to the north by Superior Township and on the west, south, an ...

, on the campus of

Eastern Michigan University Eastern Michigan University (EMU, Eastern Michigan or simply Eastern), is a public research university in Ypsilanti, Michigan. Founded in 1849 as Michigan State Normal School, the school was the fourth normal school established in the United Sta ...

. It was designated a Michigan State Historic Site in 1972 and listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...

in 1977. It is also part of the

Eastern Michigan University Historic District Eastern Michigan University Historic District is a historic district on the very south end of the Eastern Michigan University campus. Eastern Michigan University is a comprehensive, co-educational public university located in Ypsilanti, Michigan ...

(listed on the Register in 1984) and is the oldest building on EMU's campus.

History

The Students' Christian Association at Eastern Michigan University (then Michigan State Normal School) was begun as the Students' Prayer Meeting in 1853, the same year the school itself opened. Meetings were held in assembly or classrooms of the school. In 1881, the society reorganized as the Students' Christian Association, and they were granted a room in the campus conservatory building as a meeting place. However, in 1891, the room was required for classes, and the Association was homeless. They soon decided to gather funds to erect a new building. By early 1892, nearly $1000 had been pledged, and the Association appealed to philanthropist Mary Ann Starkweather for additional funding. She agreed to bequeath an additional $10,000 for the purpose of constructing a building; the funds were disbursed in late 1895.

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at t ...

architects

Malcomson and Higginbotham Malcomson and Higginbotham was an architectural firm started in the nineteenth century and based in Detroit, Michigan. A successor firm, Malcomson-Greimel and Associates, still exists in Rochester, Michigan as of 2010. History Architects William G. ...

were hired to design the building, and it was constructed in 1896 at a cost of slightly over $11,000. The Starkweather Religious Center was dedicated on March 26, 1897. When it was constructed, it was the only religious center at any teacher's college in the United States. After construction, it was leased to the University's Students' Christian Association. The Students' Christian Association was disbanded in the 1920s, but Starkweather Hall continued to be used by a succession of religious organizations. The building was renovated in 1961 by Jinkling and Lyman of

Birmingham, Michigan Birmingham is a city in Oakland County in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is a northern suburb of Detroit located along the Woodward Corridor ( M-1). As of the 2010 census, the population was 20,103. History The area comprising what is now the ...

. In 1976, the Office of Religious, which used the building at that point, was closed. The building was again remodeled, and used by public relations services. As of 2013, it is used by the Graduate Office.

Description

Starkweather Hall is a two-story Richardsonian Romanesque structure built of squared fieldstone, covering approximately by . It is asymmetrical, with an octagonal sandstone tower on one corner and a gable over the front entrance. Fishscale orange tile covers the top halves of the other facades. On the interior, the first floor originally contained dining/reception rooms, a kitchen, a dressing room, a library, and a few classrooms. The rooms were delineated by partitions that could be rolled open to create a larger space. The second floor originally contained a large assembly room and a caretaker's room. Hardware was designed especially for the building, and some original doorknobs, marked "SCA," still remain.

References

{{National Register of Historic Places in Michigan University and college buildings on the National Register of Historic Places in Michigan Romanesque Revival architecture in Michigan School buildings completed in 1896 Eastern Michigan University Ypsilanti, Michigan Michigan State Historic Sites in Washtenaw County, Michigan 1896 establishments in Michigan National Register of Historic Places in Washtenaw County, Michigan