Festival backdrop of Old Centre is a historic jewel

Centre College proudly welcomes the Great American Brass Band Festival to its ``front yard,'' the inviting lawn that stretches from Old Centre to the Cowan Dining Commons. Nothing could provide a better backdrop than Old Centre, the main administration building and the historic jewel of the campus. Built in 1820 - one year after the college was founded - the building has the longest history of continuous use of any college building west of the Alleghenies.

Old Centre has fared well over the course of 180 years, probably because it was the handiwork of Robert Russel Sr. The Russel family came from Scotland and brought strong convictions about designing buildings with classic lines and constructing them with high-quality materials. As a result, many of Danville's finest - and best preserved - old buildings were built by Russel or his son (Robert Jr.). Old Centre is one of them and, across the intersection of Maple and Main is another, the Horky House (1850) which now contains the Centre admission office. Another nearby building, which was not built by the Russels but has a distinguished history, is Craik House, directly across Main Street from Old Centre. Built in 1853 as a private residence, it now is home to Centre College President John Roush and his wife, Susie.

Old Centre stands in graceful glory today, but she has seen some turbulent times, especially during the later part of the Civil War, when the building was taken over to serve as a hospital, first for the Confederates and then for Union troops. In more recent years, the front steps of Centre have become the headquarters for Spring Sing, an annual campus treat when student groups try to out-sing and out-perform each other.

In 1991, the interior of Old Centre was handsomely renovated and a great deal of work was done to preserve the exterior. Today, Old Centre is the focal point of activity for a college cited by U.S. News & World Report as one of the 50 best liberal arts colleges in the United States.

Centre Shoppes
At a few places on campus, history takes a more playful turn. One example is Centre Shoppes, located on Main Street just one block east of Old Centre. Built at the turn-of-the-century as a private residence, the house later served as a fraternity house - and even a funeral home - before its makeover by the college. Today, the popular Centre Shoppes combines traditional collegiate bookstore services with a coffee and sandwich shop, gift shop, and a thriving retail book business.

The Combs Center (``The Warehouse'')
To find the most unusual building on campus, walk one block west of Old Centre on Walnut Street and enjoy the surprise of an old-time hemp warehouse renovated to become a stunningly beautiful student center. (You'll find the Danville Antique Fair headquartered here during Brass Band Festival weekend.) Built in 1902, the Cogar Warehouse was used for processing and selling hemp when that crop was heavily used (legally) in making rope. The building was purchased by the college and rescued from its deteriorating condition to open as a student center in 1995. Students can socialize, hold meetings, or get a bite to eat in an airy, three-story structure that features its original plank flooring and brick walls. One-foot square oak columns run from the basement of the building all the way up through three above-ground stories.

While you're at the Warehouse, look to the south to see another historic prize - the Jones Visual Arts Center, created in 1998 with the reclamation and renovation of a 1920s chair factory.

Norton Center for the Arts
Centre's other building for the arts is not historic, but the Norton Center for the Arts is a place where history is routinely made on campus. Our subscription series has brought performers including Mikhail Baryshnikov, Kathleen Battle, and Yo-Yo Ma, as well as international symphonies and touring Broadway shows. The Norton Center (at the corner of Walnut and College streets) is an 85,000 square-foot complex that hosts a world-class performing arts series. The center also serves as a focal point for Centre's academic programs in dramatic arts and music. Designed by architect William Wesley Peters of the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation, the structure was completed in 1973 and renovated in 1994. The Center's two theaters have drawn consistent praise from performers and audiences alike. Newlin Hall, the 1,500-seat concert hall, is known to have one of the finest acoustical designs in the country. The versatile 360-seat Weisiger Theatre accommodates a wide variety of performances. The Grand Foyer serves as an exhibition space for the college.

Not far from the Norton Center (just across College Street), you can catch a glimpse of Old Carnegie, built in 1913 as the college library. As a result of a 1992 renovation, this building now contains a faculty-staff dining club and offices for career planning and international programs.