The Council of Independent Colleges: Historic Campus Architecture Project

Mandelle Hall

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Institution Name: Kalamazoo College
Original/Historic Place Name: Minnie Mandelle Library
Location on Campus: quadrangle
Date(s) of Construction:

1930	original construction Embury II, Aymar

Designer: Aymar Embury II
Type of Place: Individual building
Style: Beaux-Arts classicism, Colonial revival (Glossary)
Significance: culture, religion
Narrative: see below
References: see below

Materials:

Foundation: limestone

Walls: brick

Roof: slate shingles

Function:

ca. 1930	library
ca. 2004-present (2006)	administration

Narrative:
Mandelle Library was not the first building constructed during the 1920s and 1930s, when many of the College's current buildings were constructed, but it set the tone for all buildings later erected on the campus. Located on Academy St. hill, the Library helped set the boundaries for the current quadrangle, which is the center of activity and learning at Kalamazoo College. It was the first building designed by Aymar Embury II, who went on to design four other buildings at the College.

References:

Larson, Jens Frederick, and Archie MacInnes Palmer. Architectural Planning of the American College. New York and London: McGraw-Hill, 1933.

Goodsell, Charles, and Willis Dunbar. Centennial History of Kalamazoo College. Kalamazoo, MI: Kalamazoo College, 1933.