Whitmore Hall

Constructed: 1966-1967

Architects: Campbell & Aldrich, Boston, Mass.


Design and construction

<html><div style=“float:right; padding-left:20px; padding-bottom:15px;”><a href=“http://scua.library.umass.edu/speccollimages/referenceimages/RG150-0003432.png”><img src=“http://scua.library.umass.edu/speccollimages/referenceimages/RG150-0003432.png” alt=“Whitmore Administration Building” style=“width:220px; border:1px solid #333; padding:5px;” /></a> <br /><a href=“http://scua.library.umass.edu/speccollimages/referenceimages/RG150-0003613.png”><img src=“http://scua.library.umass.edu/speccollimages/referenceimages/RG150-0003613.png” alt=“Whitmore Administration Building” style=“width:220px; border:1px solid #333; padding:5px;” /></a> <br /><a href=“http://scua.library.umass.edu/speccollimages/referenceimages/RG150-0003431.png”><img src=“http://scua.library.umass.edu/speccollimages/referenceimages/RG150-0003431.png” alt=“Whitmore Administration Building” style=“width:220px; border:1px solid #333; padding:5px;” /></a></div></html>

The Whitmore Administration Building rises from an earthen berm to complete the west side of the Haigis Mall entrance to campus. Standing on the site of the old football stadium, this hunkered-down concrete building is a monument to Hideo Sasaki, the landscape designer who profoundly restructured the UMass Amherst campus during the 1960s. Sasaki's plan called for Whitmore to provide visual unity to the wide expanse of Haigis Mall. Although the Fine Arts Center was essentially planned earlier, Whitmore is the first of the modern, exposed-cement buildings to be erected on campus.

Constructed around a central courtyard, the administration building affords occupants views both inside and outside the building. A large ramp defines the northernmost entrance to the three-story complex which houses more than 250 administrative personnel.

Naming of the building

The building was named in honor of Phillip Whitmore, who served the University as an Alumni Association president, trustee, and a state representative.


Source

  • Norton, Paul F., Amherst: A Guide to Its Architecture (Amherst, 1975)
  • Three Architectural Tours: Selected Buildings on the Campus of the University of Massachusetts Amherst (Amherst, 2000)
  • For additional information, consult the University Archives (RG 36/101).
w/whitmore_hall.txt · Last modified: 2021/09/03 12:47 by 127.0.0.1
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