The President's House is a building on the Tempe campus of

Arizona State University Arizona State University (Arizona State or ASU) is a public university, public research university in Tempe, Arizona, United States. Founded in 1885 as Territorial Normal School by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, the university is o ...

. It was built in 1907 to serve as the lodgings for the president of what was then known as the Tempe Normal School. It was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

in 1985 and currently houses the Virginia G. Piper Center for Creative Writing, known as the

writer's house Writers' homes (sometimes writer's, author's or literary houses) are locations where writers lived. Frequently, these homes are preserved as historic house museums and literary tourism destinations, called writer's home museums, especially when t ...

History

The President's House was constructed in 1907 to house the university president, and two of the university's most famous presidents lived there: Dr. Arthur Matthews held the title from 1900 to 1930, while Grady Gammage was the university president from 1933 until 1959. These two presidents shaped the institution, and under Gammage, what was once a normal school became Arizona State University. After 1959, upon Gammage's death, the building was no longer used as the home of the president. It was occupied by the Alumni House, alumni offices, and later by the University Archives, and it currently houses the Virginia G. Piper Center for Creative Writing.

Architecture

The President's House was the last known design from territorial architect James M. Creighton, who designed the now-demolished original Normal School buildings. It is also Creighton's lone surviving structure on campus. The building is a two-story Western Colonial brick building with a copper shingle roof. The main house features a two-story bay window on the west and a two-story bay with fireplace on the east. The hipped roof features projecting gables and boxed eaves, while the double-hung windows have segmental arches. In 1931, a bath and two rooms were added to the northwest corner; in 1937, the front porch was enclosed with casement windows. Restoration work that concluded in 2005 restored the building to its original appearance, including the porch, brick exterior and roof. Most interior finishes are original, with minor accommodations to meet the standards of the

Americans with Disabilities Act The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 or ADA () is a civil rights law that prohibits discrimination based on disability. It affords similar protections against discrimination to Americans with disabilities as the Civil Rights Act of 1964, ...

.ASU historical preservation page on the Writer's House
accessed 2014-01-30

References

{{National Register of Historic Places University and college presidents' houses University and college buildings on the National Register of Historic Places in Arizona Houses completed in 1907 Buildings and structures in Tempe, Arizona Arizona State University buildings and structures Houses in Maricopa County, Arizona National Register of Historic Places in Maricopa County, Arizona 1907 establishments in Arizona Territory