Xavier Buildings Added to National Register of Historic PlacesNEW ORLEANS
Xavier University of Louisiana’s Landmark Administration Building and the original library (now the music department building) have been added to the National Register of Historic Places.
Established by Congress in 1966, the National Register is the nation’s official list of significant historic properties, buildings, structures, objects and districts deemed worthy of preservation because they illustrate something about our nation’s history or culture.
The Gothic-styled, limestone administration building and its attached convent wing were dedicated in 1932. The similarly styled library was added in 1937. The buildings have undergone minor renovations and varied uses throughout the years. The administration building is home to the university’s top administrators as well as classrooms, faculty offices and student labs. The administration’s annex, once used solely as a convent, has expanded to house academic departments and offices. The nuns’ original chapel, itself a beautiful room, has served as the university’s executive boardroom.
The L-shaped administration building and annex, along with the library, form Xavier’s original campus quadrangle. Those two buildings along with several wooden World War II buildings and houses were all that existed of the campus for more than 30 years.
A men’s dormitory was built in 1955, followed by the student center and two women’s dormitories in the early 1960s, and Xavier’s College of Pharmacy building in 1969 completed the original campus quadrangle.
The library, long outgrown by the ever-increasing student body, was moved to a larger facility in 1993. The original library now houses Xavier’s department of music. The building has space for numerous practice rooms, classrooms, offices and a recital hall for performances.
Since 1988 Xavier has added an academic/science complex, pharmacy addition and most recently dedicated a new co-ed dormitory and larger University Center in 2004.
Xavier University was founded by St. Katharine Drexel, who formed the Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament religious order. Drexel was canonized as a saint by Pope John Paul II in 2000.
© Copyright 2005 by DiverseEducation.com
