The Council of Independent Colleges: Historic Campus Architecture Project

Olin Library

Click on image titles for larger views.

Olin Library (general view), Rollins College

Olin Library (front facade, at night), Rollins College

Olin Library (detail of arcade), Rollins College

Institution Name: Rollins College
Original/Historic Place Name: Olin Library
Location on Campus: lakefront
Date(s) of Construction:

1985	original construction Rogers, James Gamble II
1998	addition

Designer: James Gamble Rogers II
Type of Place: Individual building
Style: Romanesque revival (Glossary)
Significance: architecture
Narrative: see below
References: see below

Materials:

Foundation: concrete

Walls: stucco on concrete block

Roof: steel trusses with plywood decking covered with clay barrel tile

Function:

ca. 1985-present (2006)

library

Narrative:
The Olin Library was the last work of one of Florida's most highly respected architects, James Gamble Rogers II. Rogers also designed the Florida Supreme Court Building, the State Office Building, and the Florida A&M University hospital in Tallahassee, as well as buildings across the U.S. and at NASA tracking stations and military installations. He was the architect of seven other buildings at Rollins as well as a campus master plan.

The Olin Library was dedicated as the kick-off of the College's centennial celebration in 1985, and it has remained the intellectual center of the campus. In 1998, the addition of the Olin Electronic Research and Information Center, designed by Rogers' son's firm to provide expanded space for archives and special collections and incorporate up-to-date information technology into the library, was integrated seamlessly into the existing architecture of the building.

References:

Campen, Richard N. Winter Park Portrait: The Story of Winter Park and Rollins College. Beachwood, OH: West Summit Press, [ca. 1987].