Conceived in large measure as part of a 1921 campus master plan, the three main features of the historic Evansville College campus are Administration Hall, the Circle, and the President’s House. They are now situated within the larger campus that has been known as the University of Evansville since 1967. As part of the 1921 plan, the buildings and grounds of the original college are unified by their materials, style of architecture, extensive greenswards and groves, and consistent scale and detailing.

The significance of Evansville College lies in the college’s special meaning as a phenomenon of the Progressive Era. By 1900, Evansville had become an industrial and commercial power in Indiana second only to Indianapolis. With the election of the progressive mayor Benjamin Bosse in 1912, the city’s progressive citizens began pushing for the creation of a four-year liberal arts college to bring higher education and culture to Evansville. In 1917, the Evansville Chamber of Commerce partnered with the Indiana Conference of the Methodist Church to salvage the struggling Moores Hill College and create Evansville College. After relocation and the use of temporary educational facilities, Administration Hall (now known as Olmsted Hall) was opened in 1922. Evansville College was placed on the National Register in 1983.

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1800 Lincoln Ave, Evansville, IN 47714