Oberlin College Bookstore

Date

1993-1999 (private); 2000-present (college)

Location

37 West College Street

Architects/Collaborators

Integrated Architectural Services, Pittsburgh, PA (design firm)
Fortney and Weygandt, Inc., Olmsted, OH (contractor)

Style

Postmodern

History

In 1991, the Oberlin Consumers Co-operative demolished the three 19th-century structures comprising the Royce Block on this site to house their book, supply and gift business. The new postmodern, steel-frame commercial structure, built in 1993, has a false third floor facade on its north side. The first floor has extensive fixed-glass display windows high on the west side. This brick structure was built to a scale and of a material that complimented the older structures on the street. In November 1999, the Co-operative closed and declared bankruptcy. In late spring of 2000, the College purchased the building and inventory, and leased management of the bookstore to a division of Barnes & Noble.

Source

Ohio Historic Inventory for the Oberlin College Bookstore, Ohio State Historic Preservation Office, 1998, n.d. Accessed from the Oberlin Heritage Center website, May 22, 2015.