RETURNING TO ITS FORMER GLORY: Terrell Hall restoration project earns historic preservation honor

Published 4:40 pm Thursday, January 27, 2022

Once a dormitory that now serves as home to the Mass Communications department, Georgia College’s Terrell Hall was one of five places in the state to recently receive honors from the Georgia Trust for Historic Preservation.

Built in 1909 on the front campus of what was then Georgia Women’s College, the building’s most recent rehabilitation focused on returning it to its former glory while updating its functionality.

“This project was to update the building [and] bring back a lot of those historic features that really had a lot of character, had a lot of historic integrity and to convert the space into a building that would be focused on student communications,” said Maggie Discher, project manager in Facilities Planning at Georgia College.

The project, which began in 2016 and was completed in early 2020, included careful demolition to uncover historic fabric. The wood paneling in the central hall was painstakingly returned to its original splendor. Interior plaster was restored, and original lounge spaces on each end of the building were opened to restore light and visibility while returning the spaces to their original configuration. The building’s signature and striking exterior elements, the Georgia College dome and arcade roof, were restored to the original floral pattern design. Skilled copper craftsmen were able to bring the complicated and beautiful copper dome pattern back to the iconic arcade. 

“It had a lot of really unique features that you don’t commonly see in buildings,” Discher said of Terrell Hall.

During the rehabilitation, she said many stairwells that had once been boxed off were opened back up, and other spaces were opened as well to bring natural light back into the corridor and create nice gathering spaces. During the project, she said more than 20 layers of paint were removed from the main stairwell going up into the building to get it back to its original finish. In removing the building’s former drop ceilings, arched openings were found which allowed for the creation of curved edges instead of corners in the ceilings.

“By lifting up the ceiling, we really got to bring back a lot of the character of the building,” Discher said.

Discher said it was an honor for Terrell Hall to be selected for the prestigious award that acknowledges preservation efforts throughout the state, particularly in the area of rehabilitation. She said the project had a great team including the architect and contractor who both had an impressive resume of preservation work.

“It’s always really rewarding and flattering to know that other folks, especially experts in the field, are acknowledging these projects.”

Other award recipients were Mercer Music at Capricorn in Macon, Milledgeville’s East Annex and Hancock Branch Library, Rock Eagle 4-H Center Chapel in Eatonton, R.C. Henry Building in Dublin and former Dublin mayor Phil Best. Terrell Hall, Mercer Music at Capricorn and the R.C. Henry Building in Dublin received awards for Excellence in Rehabilitation, which recognizes projects that make compatible use of a building through repair, alterations or additions while preserving features of the property that convey its historic value.