The Council of Independent Colleges: Historic Campus Architecture Project

Vennum-Binkley Hall

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Institution Name: Eureka College
Original/Historic Place Name: Vennum Science Hall
Location on Campus: 300 E. College Ave.
Date(s) of Construction:

1916-1917

original construction

Designer: unknown
Type of Place: Individual building
Style: Gothic revival, Beaux-Arts classicism (Glossary)
Significance: architecture, history, religion
Narrative: see below
References: see below

Materials:

Foundation: stone

Walls: brick

Roof: flat, tar

Function:

ca. 1917

academic department building (science)

Narrative:
In 1916, Frank B. and Sadie Vennum of Champaign, IL, noted "Friends of Christian Education," pledged $30,000 to Eureka College to fund the construction of what was then one of the finest, state-of-the-art science facilities in central Illinois.

The mere fact that the phrases "Vennum Science Hall" and "Friends of Christian Education" coexist respectively in the northern and eastern facades of this building is noteworthy but also telling of the intellectual climate of the Progressive Era. At a time when many believed that science and religion were mutually exclusive, the architectural language of this building suggested otherwise.

References:

Rodriguez, Junius P. "The Architecture of Eureka College." Woodford, IL: Eureka College, 2003.