Rhodes College

Rhodes College, is a four-year private liberal arts college located in Memphis, Tennessee. It was founded in 1848 as the Masonic University of Tennessee and was also formerly known as Southwestern at Memphis. Rhodes enrolls approximately 1,500 students.

Campus

The main campus is enclosed by a iron fence on a large city block in urban Memphis across from Overton Park and the Memphis Zoo. Often cited for its beauty, the campus design is notable for its stone Gothic architecture buildings. The original buildings, including Palmer Hall (1925), the administration building, and Kennedy Hall (1925), as well as Robb and White dormitories (1925), were designed by Henry Hibbs in consultation with Charles Klauder, who designed many buildings at Princeton University, alma mater of college president Charles Diehl. Later buildings were designed by H. Clinton Parrent, a young associate of Hibbs who was present from the beginning. Parrent's buildings include the Catherine Burrow Refectory (1957), commonly referred to as "The Rat," which was an expansion of Hibbs's original dining hall. Parrent also added Halliburton Tower (1962) to Palmer Hall. The 140-foot bell tower was named in honor of explorer Richard Halliburton. The decision to sink the Frazier Jelke Science Center (1966) underground in the center of campus has often been seen as a questionable decision, creating a large, barren, concrete plaza in the center of campus. However, the plan did provide for an amphitheater that serves as a central meeting place used for concerts and special events, including Rites of Spring. To this day, Rhodes maintains its Gothic architecture, including the new Barret Library (2005) designed by the firm of Hanbury Evans Wright and Vlattas.

Related Topics:
Gothic architecture - Princeton University - Richard Halliburton - Amphitheater

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