Spelman College

Spelman College, Atlanta, Georgia

Spelman College Campus Heritage Plan (PDF) 35MB

Spelman College Campus Enhancment Plan (Website)

Spelman College, founded in 1881, is renowned for its long history of providing quality education for African American women to prepare them for leadership roles. The college campus consists of more than thirty-two acres and twenty-five buildings on the west side of Atlanta. Spelman's campus houses eleven buildings completed before 1927, several of which are included in the National Register of Historic Places designation Spelman shares with neighboring colleges. It is one of five institutions that make up the Atlanta University Center (AUC), the largest consortium of higher educational facilities for black students in the world with a total population of 16,000 students. The Campus Heritage grant will allow Spelman to complete a campus preservation plan and, ultimately, to apply for National Historic Landmark Status.

Spelman College received a Getty grant in 2002 for $65,000 to support campus heritage planning.

Report Summary

Purpose: Spelman College, founded in 1881, is well regarded for its dedication to excellence in education of women of African descent, and for its commitment to the intellectual, creative, ethical, and leadership development of its students. The 32-acre campus has 25 buildings on Atlanta’s Westside. It is one of five institutions that make up the Atlanta University Center (AUC), which, with a total population of 16,000 students, is the largest consortium of higher educational facilities for black students in the world.

This grant allowed the college to examine, in detail, the history of the development of the Spelman College campus, focusing on the 14 historic buildings constructed between 1886 and 1952. It also assessed the previous 15-year plan, created a new long-term comprehensive campus plan, and created a framework to establish renovation standards that will preserve the distinguishing character of the historic campus.

Historic Designation: Along with Morehouse College, Morehouse School of Medicine, Clark Atlanta University and the Interdenominational Theological Center, Spelman College is included in the National Register designation for the Atlantic University Center District. This area includes several contributing buildings on the Spelman campus, including Giles Hall and Sisters Chapel.

Planning Process: A team of researchers, archivists, architects, and landscape architects analyzed the history and significance of the campus, and, in particular, 14 buildings that were constructed between 1886 and 1952. This analysis informed recommendations about campus building and site preservation. Research included consideration of campus development, land use, and landscape preservation, and relied on archival documentation, including an extensive photographic collection and period architectural drawings.

Outcomes—Products: The project resulted in the Spelman College Campus Heritage Plan, the Comprehensive Campus Plan (2000-2015), a survey of the Spelman Photograph Collection (which contains nearly 900 images from ca. 1883 through 2002), and an inventory of historic architectural drawings.

Outcomes—Strategies and Goals for the Future: The college hopes to facilitate preservation goals put forth by the Campus Heritage Plan, which has made preservation recommendations in line with the Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for Rehabilitating Historic Buildings, where appropriate.