Touring Old Main
It is an honor for the ASU Alumni Association to be in Old Main.

Dedicated in February 1898, it was originally all classrooms on the first floor and most of the second floor, with an auditorium (the Assembly Hall) on the second floor and a library on the lower level.

Old Main is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and is located in the university's historic corridor,which includes the University Club (the restored Science Hall, 1908) and the University Archives (the former President's Cottage, 1907).The latter building was used, from 1961 until 1972, for the Alumni Association's administrative offices. Originally there was a twin building across the fountain that mirrored the U Club, but that was damaged in a fire and was then torn down for more classroom building in 1956.

In 1911 Teddy Roosevelt came to Arizona for the dedication of the Roosevelt Dam, and spoke on the steps of Old Main. He envisioned the opportunities that the dam would create for Arizona, with increased irrigation for farming and opined that some day perhaps as many as 100,000 people might live in the Valley! The dam made possible the Salt River Project and eventually led directly to the evolution of the Salt River Valley to a major metropolitan area.

Picture #2 in lobby: At the time, Old Main was the largest building in Tempe. For decades it was the largest building in the Valley! Its significance was great. After Old Main was built, ASU alumni went to the legislature to ask that the admission standards be raised, in order to bring the stature of the institution up to the level of the building investment.

Picture #21 in lobby: a good depiction of the north side's brick "plug" which was added in 1952 in order to provide additional office and classroom space. This is what we started with before the rehabilitation.

Statistics about the rehabilitation:

$5.7 million was the total cost.
$4.2 million was raised by the Alumni Association.
$1.5 million of state money was used. This paid for the renovation of the lower floor (Telephone Services) as well as building stabilization and the tower, with restrooms and an elevator. The tower was constructed to comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).

Tour of the building
2nd floor lobby:

Throughout the building, the wood used is red oak, which was chosen as being appropriate to the period of the building. Professor Roger Schmidt from the School of Art did research to assist in these design decisions. There are not a lot of ornate carvings, which is also in keeping with the period.

Transoms were originally designed to increase air circulation, since, of course, there was no air conditioning. Now, they serve as sources of natural light to the inner spaces of the building.

Old Main was the first building in Tempe to have electricity, but it was rather unreliable. Therefore lighting fixtures of the period all had "down" lamps which ran on electricity and "up" lamps which ran on gas when the electricity wasn't functioning.

A consortium of three valley businesses, two of which are owned by alumni, did all the wood trim (windows, doorways, wainscoting, etc.) in the building.

There is no foundation to the building; it simply sits in about two feet of dirt. Therefore, all of the load-bearing walls had to be retained and respected in the building design.

The staircase is now flipped from its original position; at the time Old Main was built, another flight led downstairs to the lower level.

The 2nd floor columns in the lobby are re-creations from cast of the originals from the 3rd.

After the first floor (the basement) was built, there was a delay while the planners went back to the legislature for additional funds. It seems that the builder, who said he was going to El Paso for a three-day trip, actually took the money and ran off with it!

All of the furniture in the building is Mission style, in keeping with the period.
3rd floor landing: The Heritage Landing

This space was dedicated April 18, 2001. It honors the Heritage Chairs (currently 8 in number) who have contributed significantly to the state of Arizona and given generously to ASU. A quilt designed by Jason Eslamieh, the architect for the rehabilitation, is hanging on the west wall of the landing, honoring this group.

The Carson Ballroom
This was originally the campus auditorium, with built in seats running north to south and a stage on the east wall. The 28-foot high ceiling is the original pressed metal ceiling. Damaged sections were replaced by the same company in Missouri which created the original tiles. Professor Roger Schmidt of the College of Fine Arts (the same person who did other historical research for appropriate building colors, etc.) created ceramic replicas to replace a few missing or badly damaged specialty pieces.

The rods that run east to west across the room are there to stabilize the building. They were put in less than a year after the building was finished, because it began to pull apart at the open span of the vaulted ceiling. Originally there were vertical rods as well, but these were removed after structural engineers determined they were not necessary.

The glass in these windows, as in almost all (90%) of the building is the original glass. Some show the wavy aspect typical of old glass.

Major Donors:

Carson Ballroom: Ed and Nadine Carson ('51 and '53). This year Ed will be inducted into the Golden Circle (Class of '51). He is a past association president. They now live in Beverly Hills and Nadine believes they met at Old Main. (Ed is willing to take her word for it.)

Piano in the Carson Ballroom: Bill and Corinne Hochgraef ('65, '68 M.S.E. and '65 M.A.E.). The piano also has player capabilities.

Bebbling Balcony: John and Barbara Bebbling both '71. He is the owner of Tempe Decorator Center and donated all of the paint and flooring, as well as making a cash gift.

Tooker Board Room: Gary and Diane Tooker ('62 and '61). He is a former chairman of the board at Motorola. Gary was on the almuni board for six years; Diane is a current board member.

The Basha Family Library: "Eddie" Basha. Eddie was awarded an honorary Doctor of Philosophy degree from ASU in 1999 and has three sons with ASU degrees. This room will eventually be finished with bookshelves on 3 walls and a service buffet on the fourth (east) wall.

Farnsworth Terrace Courtyard: Anita and Ross Farnsworth ('57 and '56, '57 M.A.) Site of the alumni bricks, which are still being sold as a fundraiser for further building expenses.

Crown Conference Room: Eric Crown '84 and Kari Crown '94. He is a College of Business graduate and owns a computer hardware company.

Contributors over $1,500 are recognized on a Donor Wall on the second floor.