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Billings Student Center
Prominently located on University
Place overlooking the University Green, the Billings Student
Center was originally constructed between 1883 and 1885 as the
Billings Library to the design of one of the country's most influential
architects of the era, Henry Hobson Richardson. Other noteworthy
examples of H. H. Richardson's works include: the State Capitol
in Albany, New York; Trinity Church in Boston, Massachusetts;
Allegheny County Courthouse in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; and
Sever Hall at Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
Billings
is an outstanding example of the Richardsonian Romanesque style
of architecture. Important architectural features include its
imposing reddish-brown sandstone exterior with beautiful carvings,
the monumental arched entrance opening, the black slate roof
with "eye-brow" dormers and the two stone towers.
Inside, the building features an imposing entrance hall with a sandstone fireplace. Above the fireplace is a large portrait of Frederick Billings of Woodstock, Vermont, the main benefactor for the building's construction. Many of the original 1885 gas lighting fixtures remain, although the building was electrified in 1911.
H. H. Richardson also designed the original furnishings for the library including the tall intricately carved wooden clock that stands in the main hall near the fireplace.
The front steps and the surrounding landscaping were designed by the firm of Frederick Law Olmsted, who designed Central Park in New York City.
In
1889, the library was extended 25 feet to the north to accommodate
more volumes of books in the stacks. At the same time a forty-by-forty
foot Marsh Room was added to the east. This space with its beautify
sandstone fireplace was named for George Perkins Marsh of Woodstock,
known for his pioneering work on environmental issues during
the mid-1880s.
With the completion of the Guy W. Bailey Library in 1961, the Billings Library was renovated and transformed into UVM's main student center, opening in 1963.
From
July 1984 to March 1986, the building was closed for renovations
and the construction of a large addition that connects Billings
with the Ira Allen Chapel. A large student dining facility was
added, along with offices and meeting rooms for many student
organizations and a large theater that extends north of Ira Allen
Chapel.
Photo credits: Top, view circa 1890, UVM Archives; others by Prof. Thomas Visser, 1999.
Page credit: Prof. Thomas
Visser,
Historic Preservation Program , UVM