The Council of Independent Colleges: Historic Campus Architecture Project

J. Henry Gooding Building

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J. Henry Gooding Building (three-quarter view), Jacksonville University

J. Henry Gooding Building (detail, entrance), Jacksonville University

Institution Name: Jacksonville University
Original/Historic Place Name: J. Henry Gooding Building
Location on Campus:
Date(s) of Construction:

1972-1974

original construction; October 1972-September 1974 Kemp, Bunch & Jackson

Designer: Kemp, Bunch & Jackson
Type of Place: Individual building
Style: Modern/post-WWII, Other (Glossary)
Significance: culture, education
Narrative: see below
References: see below

Materials:

Foundation: concrete slab

Walls: cast in place concrete and brick

Roof: flat, rolled roof with tar

Function:

1974-present (2006)	faculty offices
1974-present (2006)	auditorium
ca. 1974-present (2006)	classrooms

Narrative:
In 1970, a fund raising program called Planned Action for a Center of Excellence (PACE), a $10 million capital construction proposal, was presented by JU President Robert H. Spiro. Mrs. Lucy Gooding, widow of J. Henry Gooding, donated $1million toward the construction of an urban studies and social sciences center. Mrs. Gooding was a noted Jacksonville philanthropist who donated funds for education and medical buildings and programs. At the groundbreaking she stated, "I feel that I have contributed to one of the most important fields in the world today--education."

The building serves the same purpose today as it did at the time of its dedication in September 1974. An auditorium, classrooms, and faculty offices are housed in the building. The cast-in-place concrete and harsh sculptural forms are typical of American Brutalist architecture.

References:

Bald, Ralph D. 4 Decades of Growth. Jacksonville, FL: Jacksonville University Office of Public Relations, 1975.

Bald, Ralph D., Jr. A History of Jacksonville University, The First Twenty-Five Years, 1934-1959. Jacksonville, FL: Jacksonville University, 1959.

Hallam, George. Our Place in the Sun, A History of Jacksonville University. Jacksonville, FL: Jacksonville University, 1988.

"History of Jacksonville University. Descriptions of the University--Photographs." [n.d.] Carl S. Swisher Library, Jacksonville University, Jacksonville, FL.

Middleton, Bill. "McGully's Gulch: Where It Began." Florida-Times Union, October 23, 1951.