The University of Tennessee recently unveiled an updated campus master plan that includes the razing of possibly three large mid-20th century buildings familiar to Chattanooga area alumni and students.
They include the University Center, Stokely Athletics Center, and the former Melrose Hall dormitory.
The University Center and Stokely will definitely be torn down, the former to make way for a larger student center and the latter because of serious fire code problems and other issues.
Melrose, a former men’s dorm and later housing facility for international students, is being eyed for possible demolition, but a decision on it will likely not be made anytime soon.
“We may not tear down Melrose, but we do know Melrose Hall has some challenges,” said Jeff Maples, senior associate vice chancellor for finance and administration.
He said one problem with the sprawling building – a post World War II structure located just west of the Hodges Library – is that it has low floor-to-ceiling height. That could present problems if a central air conditioning unit is installed and the ceilings are dropped some more.
Problems could also arise in trying to meet current codes during a renovation. For example, the enlargement of stairways and other needed changes could take away much of the usable space.
“Is it worth spending $50 million to get 20,000 square feet,” Mr. Maples said. “Those are all things we have to factor.”
However, he did say that architectural or historic significance can help save such a building.
The structure, like the other two, was originally designed by premier Knoxville architect Charles Barber of the Barber McMurry firm.
With the University Center, the facility simply isn’t large enough to meet the needs of today’s large student body, UT officials said.
Work on an expansive new center is expected to begin in about 12-18 months. The parking garage on the south side will be demolished first, and the first phase of the student center will be built there, Mr. Maples said.
Then the current UC and some surrounding older buildings will be torn down, and the second section of the University Center will be located there.
A historic Volunteer Ballroom mural done by New York artist Marion Greenwood depicting Tennessee’s musical heritage – which has been covered up in recent years because some students saw its portrayal of blacks in one scene as too stereotypical – will be preserved from the current UC.
Other features may also be saved to help the new building become a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design–certified structure.
Stokely, which is described by Mr. Maples as having some major code issues, is scheduled to be demolished after being vacated in December 2012.
In recent years, it has housed offices for a number of UT athletic officials – including athletic director Mike Hamilton – as well as ROTC. Volleyball and indoor track practices are still held there.
The original part of the structure opened as the 7,800-seat UT Armory Fieldhouse for basketball in 1958, with permanent seating on the west end and temporary seating elsewhere. It was enlarged to its current seating capacity of 12,700 in 1966 and renamed after a financial gift from canning industrialist William B. Stokely.
Many Big Orange fans will never forget sitting in the facility and cheering on the good teams of coaches Ray Mears and Don DeVoe and watching such greats as Bernard King, Ernie Grunfeld and Dale Ellis. Many of Pat Summitt’s outstanding Lady Vol teams also played there. Entertainment stars from Elvis Presley to comedian Steve Martin also performed there.
I often roamed the halls of the building admiring the pictures of athletes and practicing on the synthetic basketball floor while attending the UT All-Sports Camp in the summers of 1972 and 1973 and staying next door in Gibbs Hall.
I also took part in some indoor track meets there in 1977 and 1978 while at Baylor, and I remember going to some very loud basketball games at Stokely while in college in the late 1970s and early 1980s during the early Don DeVoe years.
It was probably the last era of intensity among Vol basketball fans until Bruce Pearl arrived.
The University Center opened in 1954 as the largest building on campus. It was expanded with the addition of the Crest Room in 1962 and another major annex in 1967.
Representative of the finer buildings constructed during the 1950s era, the UC features marble steps, thin bricks, nice wood paneling and terrazzo flooring in places.
Students and former students also have emotional attachment to the building, as it has been where they have gathered to relax, eat or even protest an issue of the day, such as the Vietnam War. In part, because the UT campus does not have a lot of expansive lawn areas ideal for tailgating, the University Center’s inside halls and rooms have been popular places to gather for Tennessee fans waiting for a football game to start at nearby Neyland Stadium. Victory is always on their minds before the game.
I remember going into the University Center back in 1973 as an eighth-grader with the Dr. James Royal family and eating at the traditional cafeteria in what is now Smokey’s before going out and watching a fabulous Vol freshman named Stanley Morgan make two or three great catches against Texas Christian on his way to an NFL career.
I also remember eating in the same cafeteria in 1997 while attending a UT freshman orientation with my stepson, Ben Whitelaw, before the room was converted into a food court.
In recent years, old high school friend Steve Smalling has come up for some UT football games, and we have generally always gathered in the UC to hear a pregame academic lecture or watch another game on TV in the auditorium.
Melrose Hall, an expansive dorm in the traditional collegiate Gothic style, opened in 1948 as the first men’s dormitory paid for by the state of Tennessee. It was no doubt built to accommodate the numerous men home from military service and going to school on the GI Bill.
It had a relatively new concept in which several rooms were grouped around central lounges, according to UT administrator and campus historian Betsey Creekmore. Gun cabinets for ROTC students were also built into the shelves. It also was broken into several sections, each of which was named for a distinguished faculty member.
By the late 1980s, it had become the residence hall of choice for international students.
In 1990, talk surfaced of taking Melrose out of service because it ran an annual deficit and had an antiquated heating system. However, the students rallied and it remained as a dorm until 2008.
It houses some offices, and the main dormitory parts have been used by the music school beginning this year while a new music building is being constructed.
Whether the building will be preserved, or preservationists and sentimentalists will be singing the blues over its demolition, is still to be determined. What is for sure is that it and the other two buildings have created a lot of rich memories for students and alumni.
Jcshearer2@comcast.net