It sits on a hill at the corner of campus underneath the looming shadow of Tiger Stadium.
A 1963 Reveille article said it “once housed the president, registrar, treasurer and most of the executive offices of the University.”
It was there in the middle of it all when the new campus was born, and it even was there in the beginning when the old campus was constructed in Pineville, La.
Construction workers have built it, torn it down, moved it, rebuilt it backward and finally, are in the process of restoring and renovating it.
The Journalism Building is considered the oldest and most historic building on campus.
A 1951 Reveille article said it is the “only relic of the University younger days to remain a campus building.”
The building is undergoing massive construction to restore it to its original appearance and bring it up to date for mass communication students.
Renee Pierce, Mass Communication Department computer analyst, said the complete gutting and renovation/historical restoration is essential in pushing the department forward.
“In the big scope, it’s part of reuniting mass communication,” Pierce said.
Laying the foundation
The Manship School of Mass Communication’s historical analysis of the Journalism Building said it originally was constructed in 1904 on the old campus in Pineville as the Alumni Hall.
A Baton Rouge State Times article said the Alumni Hall was built as a memorial to David Boyd, the first president of the University.
Once the new campus in Baton Rouge was finished in 1925, the building, “which took so much time and sacrifice to build, was no longer needed by the University in its current location,” the historical analysis said.
But the building’s time was not up.
In 1934, the administration chose to move the Alumni Hall “brick by brick and piece by piece” to the new campus, according to a 1951 Reveille article.
When the building was rebuilt at the current campus location, it “experienced a metamorphosis from that of a Palladian nine square plan, complete with a domed rotunda, to that of a linear arrangement of classrooms and offices along a north-south corridor,” the historical analysis said.
Constructors used the same bricks but just built it a little differently.
Rumors abound that besides being altered somewhat, the Journalism Building was built facing the wrong direction.
Pierce said the story is true.
“When they brought it down here, it was built facing the river, not the street, which wasn’t the original idea,” Pierce said.
During its lifespan on the current campus, the building served as home to the Athletic Department, Office of the Dean of Women, the Commandant of Cadets, Alumni Federation, Treasury Department and the Office of the Registrar, a 1960 Reveille article said.
The building once held three vaults with 16-inch walls for storing important documents and materials, the article said. But later, the vaults were replaced with modern classrooms.
Throughout the years, relics and memorabilia from previous departments and offices once housed in the building accumulated in the attic.
A 1943 Reveille article said reporters uncovered student records dating back to 1904.
A new vision for an old building
Pierce said a general rule on campus is the restoration or renovation of a building can take as many as 12 years from the time a proposal is made to the time construction begins.
However, Manship School of Mass Communication Dean John Hamilton said it only took five to six years before construction started.
“[The process] has moved much faster than the average time it takes to get this done,” Hamilton said.
Pierce said the short time period occurred because many people were interested in the renovation, and Hamilton had a lot of backing when approaching the legislature for assistance.
Hamilton said the reason people were so interested was because of the building’s history.
“It’s a great building,” Hamilton said. “It would be a disgrace not to have a building like this in good shape.”
Assistant Director for Facility Development Emmett David said the blueprint for renovation “matches the nomenclature of the existing architecture.”
David said renovations will add a 5,000-square foot forum directly behind the main entrance lobby.
Pierce said the new addition will have a domed ceiling reminiscent of the original rotunda that was removed when the building was reconstructed on campus.
“The forum will have chairs and tables to serve as a gathering area for students,” Pierce said. “It can be used for guest speakers and will have three cameras set up for live feeds [to the media].”
Other additions to the Journalism Building include three new computer labs and two new classes, Pierce said.
Construction workers took out all the windows and plan to replace them with custom-built replicas of the original windows when the building first was built, Pierce said.
Also, workers pulled up carpeting on the first and second floor to reveal old wood floors, which will be restored, she said.
David said construction is scheduled for completion December 2003, and faculty will move in the following semester.
David said the building is getting special attention because of its long history on campus and in hopes it will continue to serve the campus.