Kent State University, Taylor Hall, Midway Drive, Kent

Source document Quoted word for word from HABS OH-698. Not written, edited or summarised by this site.

Taylor Hall is located on Midway Drive, Kent, northeastern Ohio in Portage County. The building is centrally located on the campus of Kent State University within the May 4, Kent State Shootings Site Historic District. Taylor Hall is located at latitude: longitude: The coordinate was taken at the approximate center of the building and was obtained in using Google Earth There is no restriction on its release to the public.

Source document Quoted word for word from HABS OH-698. Not written, edited or summarised by this site.

Taylor Hall and its significant contributing surroundings create the site for the events that took place during the May 4, Kent State Shootings. Kent State students were protesting against both the Vietnam War, after President Nixon s decision to enter Cambodia, and the presence of the National Guard on campus. On May 4, thirteen Kent State students were shot by the National Guard, four fatally. During the devastating events that occurred from May the period of significance, Taylor Hall was a central location to the incidents on campus. The prime location adjacent to the campus commons allowed the building to be an area where protesting students and innocent bystanders could congregate both inside and outside.

The portico in Taylor Hall and the large, overlooking windows facing the hill, where the National Guard drove demonstrators back toward the building, provided students and professors with a clear view to oversee the events. Tear gas released by the National Guard entered the air ducts of the building and forced the onlookers outside of the building. This further added to the growing number of people outside the building. The thirteen students were shot outside of Taylor Hall and the four fatally wounded were located in the nearby parking lot. The four locations where the students lost their lives are presently partitioned off and have memorial lights marking the area to commemorate their lives.

Since Taylor Hall was the home of the Kent State School of Journalism and school newspaper and yearbook at the time, many photojournalism students provided amateur documentation and photographs of the events that took place. Another major significant contribution that Taylor Hall and its surrounding area provided was the bullet shot through the Solar Totem sculpture by Don Drumm, which is located in front of the southeastern facade of the building. A bullet shot from the National Guard pierced the sculpture in front of Taylor Hall, the Solar Totem. The contributing object still stands today with the evident bullet hole as a remembrance of the events that took place and the four lives that were lost.

The May 4 Memorial is located on the north side of Taylor Hall and the May 4 Visitors Center is located on the interior of the first floor of Taylor Hall. Description: Taylor Hall, a contributing building to the May 4, Kent State Shootings Historic Site, is a four-story, rectangular Modern academic building with Greek- influenced peristyle linear columns that stretch the entire elevation of the building. KENT STATE UNIVERSITY, TAYLOR HALL HABS No. OH-698 (page 2) The building resembles a free-standing block that is symmetrical on all elevations. It is composed of dark glass, brick, wood, steel framing, and exposed aggregate concrete. Taylor Hall was constructed with a column and beam system with pronounced chamfers and concrete slabs. The building has large awning windows.

Taylor Hall has not gone through any major exterior physical changes and presently appears the same to when it was erected. The only evident physical change is the resurfacing of the concrete portico floor to an asphalt and pebble composition. The interior, originally composed of classrooms and offices, has gone through minor changes, the gallery was removed, more offices were added in the entry commons, and the installation of ADA compliant entrance doors. The creation of the May 4 Visitors Center on the first floor took the place of original classrooms. History: Taylor Hall was built in and designed by architects Ward and Schneider. It is owned by Kent State University and was originally used as the location for the Kent State School of Journalism and newspaper, The Daily Kent State.

It was used for offices, classrooms and developing photographs. Today, Taylor Hall is the home of Kent State College of Architecture and Environmental Design and the School of Communication Studies. The building is still used for classrooms and offices, but also provides an architecture studio for the students on the fourth floor. The May 4 Visitors Center is also a new use for the building and provides information on both the May 4 Shootings and the history of America during this pivotal time.

Source document Quoted word for word from HABS OH-698. Not written, edited or summarised by this site.

This history was submitted with measured drawings of Taylor Hall prepared for the Peterson Prize student drawing competition by students in the Kent State University College of Architecture & Environmental Design. The history was prepared by Claire Pressler, a current Kent State Student of the College of Arts and Sciences. The drawings were prepared by Katherine Hartman, Dalton Kline, Claire Pressler, Arielle Laurus, Kaitlyn Moynihan, and Cara Welch. The measuring was done by Kemili Cezar Do Carmo, Stephanie Darnell, Heloisa De Almeida, Isabela De Freitas Pineiro, AnaClara Franciosi De Souza Ferreira, Jessica Lemos de Oliveira, Miranda Laurienzo, and Mike Roe.