College Dormitories and the Roaring Twenties

The architecture firm Johnson, Miller, Miller & Yeager built this women's dormitory in 1924 for what was then known as the Indiana State Normal School in Terre Haute, Indiana. The photograph pictured above was spotted in one of the firm's photo books donated by architect Ewing Miller II, the son and nephew of the two Millers listed in the firm's name. What made this photograph stand out from the others are the people seen in front of the building. While most architecture photography of the era is devoid of people in the scene, this image depicts a large grouping of students in front of their dorm, book ended by cars of the era.

The photographs and manuscript materials were donated last year as an addition to the already existing Miller Family Architectural Records collection, which has been digitized and is available in the University Libraries' Digital Media Repository. Below is the elevation drawing for the same dormitory. You can see more of the drawings of the building, and many others the firm designed, online.

Images: Women's Dormitory photograph and architectural drawing, Indiana State Normal School, Terre Haute, Indiana, 1924. Miller Family Architectural Drawings, Drawings + Documents Archive, Ball State University.

Scheidler Apartments, Ball State University

Ball State University students are moving into their campus dorm rooms this week and we're celebrating this monumental milestone toward adulthood with architectural depictions of dorms, both past and present. First up is an interior presentation drawing of Ball State University's Scheidler Apartments phase III plan from 1970. The university has many dormitories to house the 15,000+ undergraduates on campus, however Scheidler and Anthony Apartments offer one to three bedroom apartment units for upper-level students and students or faculty with families. 

The interior presentation drawing, above, from the Muncie architecture firm Hamilton, Graham, Love, and Associates depicts a modern academic navigating the efficient apartment layout, while also directing attention beyond the sliding glass door where the exterior elevation of the neighboring apartment can be seen in the distance. The architecture and custom shelving, as well as the human figure, remain in black and white while plants, decorations, the puppy's bow, and the outside add color in a fairly restrained palette of green, blue, brown, and yellow. Due to the clever use of the outdoor scene, this interior drawing can also function as an exterior building drawing, as well.

Image: Ball State University Scheidler Apartments interior presentation drawing, 1970. Hamilton & Graham Architectural Records, Drawings + Documents Archive, Ball State University.