Old Main is a red-roofed Victorian Gothic

Victorian era

The Victorian era of British history was the period of Queen Victoria's reign from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. It was a long period of peace, prosperity, refined sensibilities and national self-confidence...

 building on the campus of Texas State University-San Marcos. Situated at one end of the quad

Quadrangle (architecture)

In architecture, a quadrangle is a space or courtyard, usually rectangular in plan, the sides of which are entirely or mainly occupied by parts of a large building. The word is probably most closely associated with college or university campus architecture, but quadrangles may be found in other...

, it was Texas State's first building, built in 1903, and remained the only building on campus until 1908. Old Main was added to the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) in 1983. It currently houses the offices for the School of Journalism and Mass Communication as well as the College of Fine Arts.

Design and construction

E. Northcraft designed the building for Southwest Texas State Normal College (now Texas State University) in 1902. The building was dubbed "Main" as it was the only building on the campus when it was opened for classes in the Fall of 1903. The original design included an auditorium and chapel on the second floor with an ornate cathedral ceiling, stage and balcony. Construction of the building was complicated from the start. The site for the building was directly over a cavern that had to be filled in with multiple loads of concrete.

Once other buildings began opening on campus to hold classes, the building was used as the university's administration building.

1972 - Present

In 1972, the interior of the building was renovated and the chapel ceiling was restored. Following completion of this work the building was rededicated and officially became "Old Main." During this renovation, the auditorium on the second floor was partitioned into smaller rooms.

In 1988, a renovation added a floor at the balcony level. This renovation maintained the ornate ceiling which was visible on the new third floor. The most recent renovations in 1993 and 1994 restored the original color and style roof of the building.

Today, Old Main at Texas State holds the College of Fine Arts and Communication along with the School of Journalism and Mass Communication.