The Council of Independent Colleges: Historic Campus Architecture Project

Franciscan Theatre and Conference Center

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Franciscan Theatre and Conference Center (exterior, general view), Lourdes College

Franciscan Theatre and Conference Center (exterior mural), Lourdes College

Institution Name: Lourdes College
Original/Historic Place Name: The Franciscan Life Center
Location on Campus: 6832 Convent Blvd.
Date(s) of Construction:

1980-1981

original construction Angel, Mull & Associates, Inc.

Designer: Angel & Mull Associates, Inc. (Toledo, OH)
Type of Place: Individual building
Style: Mission/Mission revival (Glossary)
Significance: architecture, culture, education, history, religion
Narrative: see below
References: see below

Materials:

Foundation:

Walls: sandstone light brick

Roof: terracotta tile

Function:

ca. 1980	student union
ca. 1980	library (archives)
ca. 1980-present (2006)	other (performing arts center)
ca. 1980-present (2006)	museum (art gallery)
ca. 1980-present (2006)	gymnasium
ca. 1980-present (2006)	classrooms

Narrative:
The Franciscan Center was originally envisioned to provide meeting space for the growing religious congregation but quickly evolved into a facility that would be available to the public. It houses an 800 seat theatre, as well as several conference rooms and a large reception area, and provides minimal gym facilities.

The center was built on the site of St. Anthony Hall, a wooden structure that was the hub of the religious congregation's spiritual, communal, educational, and administrative life from 1919 until it was razed in 1977. The architecture is marked by a series of interior and exterior arches, a bell tower, cloister walks, and magnificent original ceramic murals designed and executed by Sisters Jane Mary Sorosiak, Helen Chmura, and Agneta Ganzel, along with the help of a host of volunteers. The external walls of the theater's fly space boast 3 large murals that wind 140 feet around the walls. The east wall portrays the story of the apparition at Lourdes.

References:

Klewicki, Mary Dunstan. Ventures For The Lord: The History of the Sylvania Franciscans. Sylvania, OH: Sisters of St. Francis, 1990.

Lesiak, Michaeline. Art Catalogue: Narrative in the Duns Scotus Library. Sylvania, OH: Sisters of St. Francis, 1986.

Warpeha, M. Justinian. Of Evergreens Rooted In Yellow Sand, a Profile of Venerable Mother M. Adelaide, Foundress of the Sisters of St. Francis of Sylvania, Ohio. Sylvania, OH: Sisters of St. Francis, 1967.