Alicia Meehan, Campus Carrier deputy news editor

Berry was founded in 1902, with many of the buildings established around this time having been demolished. Although some of the oldest buildings are gone, the ones that still remain standing are Hoge, Moon and the Ford complex. These buildings show their age, visibily seen in their exterior façade and interior structure, however Berry has plans to renovate and rebuild. 

Hoge and Moon house administrative offices and house the art department, respectively. Hoge is the second oldest building on campus, erected in 1905 with the construction’s fund started by students. The Ford complex is comprised of student residences, the alumni center and recital and dining halls. Henry and Clara Ford, the founding family of the Ford Motor Company, gifted the entire complex to Berry in the 1920’s. 

Sophomore Quinn Larkworthy is an art major who spends a lot of time in Moon. The building is nearly one hundred years old, constructed in 1934 and remodeled in 1962 and again in 1971. Larkworthy said that the building shows its age and needs maintenance.

“I would say the entire building needs repairs,” Larkworthy said. “The other week, our sink just kind of flew off the wall.”

Larkworthy said that the most dangerous area of Moon is the basement. While some of the rooms in the basement are accessible, the doors to the main area are locked. 

Larkworthy described the view through the glass doors into the main area as stripped bare and covered in graffiti. A sign is posted outside of the door, forbidding entry without a face mask. 

According to Larkworthy, students who spend ample time in Moon say that the main basement is blocked off due to the presence of asbestos.

Casee Gilbert, chief of staff, could not confirm that the asbestos concerns are true but said that Moon’s basement and attic are blocked off for good reason. When it comes to renovating Moon again, Gilbert said that old buildings can reach a point where maintenance is no longer helpful. 

“At some point, you reach the limit on how many times you can restructure a space,” Gilbert said. “I think the Moon building is one of those really interesting spaces where we will have to make a decision on if it still meets the needs that we’re trying to fulfill.”

According to Gilbert, Berry works constantly to maintain the condition of the buildings on campus during breaks and school semesters. Gilbert said that the College Chapel, Evans, Pilgrim, Oak Hill and the Ford Dining Hall all have plans for renovation or remodeling in the near future. 

Gilbert said that major renovations have many obstacles. Large projects take a lot of time to plan and require significant funding. 

Gilbert also said that many Berry students stay in the summer as well, and while that is great for the student population, it tends to make those big projects difficult.

Facility Services is in the process of creating a ten-year master plan, including renovations, upkeep and maintenance of the buildings on campus, according to Gilbert. 

Brian Erb, chief operating officer and vice president of finance, projects to spend $85 million throughout the ten-year capital plan. Erb balances the needs of the campus that makes up over the 1.8 million square feet of land and the over 100 buildings that make up Berry’s campus. 

According to Erb, the funding for renovations comes from alumni donations and student tuition. A part of the logistical challenges that come with creating the master plan as well as enacting the planned renovations is to fund the projects while keeping tuition affordable. 

Erb said that the buildings made nearly a century ago do not have a layout that flows in the same way that buildings constructed in the modern day do. According to Erb, part of the master plan is to figure out which buildings need to be rethought and restructured to better fit how students and faculty utilize them today. 

Jennifer Dickey (80C), Berry’s campus preservationist, said that maintaining the historic appearance of the buildings at Berry is very important. Dickey said that historical buildings, such as Lemley Hall, Thomas Berry Hall, the Memorial Library and more, have all had extensive interior maintenance over the years, but their outer appearance remains the same. 

“[A lot of these] buildings have been almost gutted and renovated in some cases,” Dickey said. “And that’s fine, because they look the same on the outside for the most part, which I think is important to preserve that, the exterior.” 

According to Erb, Berry plans to renovate some of its historic buildings to better fit modern use. For example, the interior of the Ford building complex is going to be modernized for efficient use, while the exterior will remain the same. On the other hand, Martha Berry’s Oak Hill will be completely preserved in its original condition to keep its history alive. 

President Sandeep Mazumder addressed a student’s question about Berry’s buildings in an SGA meeting Tuesday. Before this semester began, Mazumder toured each residence hall and said that needed renovations were added to a list. 

Mazumder said that the new Morgan-Bailey building and accompanying residence hall on its top floor provides a good example of how to utilize building space. 

“I imagine going forward that’s probably not the last time we’ll try doing that,” Mazumder said. 

Mazumder spoke on the plans for the Moon building. He said that although the building is one of the oldest in Berry, they plan to tear it down and rebuild it. Mazumder said that due to the asbestos problem, they can’t afford to continue repairing it. 

“I’ve been trying to think about the diplomatic way to say this,” Mazumder said. “There are definitely some buildings on campus that need to go. Moon is probably the building that’s come up [with] the most problems for the faculty, staff and students [that go] about the building.” 

Mazumder said that Berry has to tread lightly between keeping historic buildings that are deep and meaningful to the community and doing updates and renovate when appropriate.  The Moon building did not fall under the list of historic buildings that needed to be preserved. The master plan will include the tearing down of Moon and rebuilding something new in its space. 

“From what I can tell, Moon is not one of those historic buildings that need to be preserved,” Mazumder said. “[Rebuilding Moon] will definitely be in our new master plan.”

Erb said the team refers to “Berry Trails,” a book published by the Daughters of Berry, when they need context regarding historic buildings. The book serves as a guide to the history of all of Berry’s buildings and includes the construction years and renovation dates of the buildings, as well as old photographs. But what is most important to the planners are the descriptions of what each building was intended to be used for, and this is what guides the plans for renovation.

“The Berry Trails book gives us a helpful description and history of most of our buildings,” Erb clarified in an email. “When you have buildings on campus that have been built over the past 120 years or so, it’s a good idea to be aware of the year of construction and original uses of the building.” 

Dickey said that as a historian and preservationist, she is always concerned about maintaining the historic fabric of Berry’s structures. 

“A critical piece of any institution like this is ongoing maintenance of all your buildings, the old and then new,” Dickey said. “We have a lot of buildings on this campus, and in general I would say that [Facilities Services] does a good job doing the seemingly insurmountable task of maintaining all these buildings.”