The Council of Independent Colleges: Historic Campus Architecture Project

Sells Hall

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Institution Name: King College
Original/Historic Place Name: Margaret M. Sells Science Hall
Location on Campus: 2213 Tadlock Rd.
Date(s) of Construction:

1927	original construction Kearfott, Clarence B. or Kearfott & Jones
1949	addition

Designer: Clarence C. Kearfott or Kearfott & Jones (attr. to)
Type of Place: Individual building
Style: Colonial revival (Glossary)
Significance: culture, education, history, religion
Narrative: see below
References: see below

Materials:

Foundation: clay block

Walls: brick and block and drywall material

Roof: asphalt shingles and rubber roof (for the 1949 addition)

Function:

1927-1977	academic department building (science: all labs and sciences until White Science Hall was built)
ca. 1950s-1990	facility management building (Facilities Services Department in basement moved from Women's Auxiliary Building; here until new facility built on Cedar Street)
ca. 2004-present (2006)	academic department building (Biblical Studies, English as a 2nd Language, Foreign Languages, computer lab, technology space)

Narrative:
Sells Hall was one of the original campus buildings and the original science facility of King College. The growth of the science program led to an expansion of Sells in 1949 financed by the Kresge Foundations of Chicago, and finally to the construction of a much larger, state-of-the-art science facility, White Science Hall, in 1977. Sells Hall is named for Margaret H. Sells at the request of George Sells, president of General Shale Brick and the supplier of all the brick used in King College's facilities.

Sells Hall needs a complete renovation of the interior. Previous renovation work was not done in accordance with quality standards of any era. The electrical system is partially upgraded but needs to be completed on the 2nd and 3rd floors; the back of the building faces the public and needs to have a "facelift" to bring it into accordance with the architectural features of the building; a quality space study needs to take place, since the building is used to house science labs, and the available offices are not efficient in their size or use; the false ceilings need replacing or should be restored to their original aesthetic design.

References:

Landscape Master Plan. Narrative and drawings. King College, Bristol, TN.

Selected items from Collection of Master Plans. 1917, 1931, 1952 and 1968. King College Archives, King College, Bristol, TN.

Thompson & Litton Architects. Master Plan [King College]. Narrative and drawings. [Wise, VA: Thompson & Litton Architects], October 1998 and 1999.