Principia College Historic District
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Principia College Historic District
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Principia College Chapel
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| Location | Principia College, Elsah, Illinois, United States |
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| Coordinates | 38°56′56″N 90°20′51″W / 38.94889°N 90.34750°WCoordinates: 38°56′56″N 90°20′51″W / 38.94889°N 90.34750°W |
| Area | 290 acres (120 ha) |
| Built | 1940 |
| Architect | Bernard Maybeck; Henry Gutterson |
| Architectural style | Colonial Revival, Tudor Revival |
| NRHP Reference # | 93001605 |
| Significant dates | |
| Added to NRHP | April 19, 1993 |
| Designated NHLD | April 19, 1993 |
The Principia College Historic District is a National Historic Landmark District encompassing the central portion of the campus of Principia College in Elsah, Illinois. The campus master plan and eleven of its buildings are an important late design of architect Bernard Maybeck, best known for his influential architecture in the American West. It was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1993., and was also placed on the National Register of Historic Places that same year.
The Principia was founded in 1897 as an educational institution primarily serving the needs of Christian Scientists. Beginning with primary and secondary schools, the organization (unaffiliated with the Church of Christ, Scientist but operating with its approval) established Principia College in the early 20th century. Initially based in St. Louis, Missouri, the organization in the 1910s began to search for a suitable campus location for the college. A former country estate overlooking the Mississippi River just south of Elsah was purchased, and college president Frederic E. Morgan hired West Coast architect Bernhard Maybeck to develop the campus master plan and buildings. Maybeck used the existing roads on the estate as a foundation, and laid out what resembles an English country village.
The centerpiece of the campus is the chapel, which was the first permanent building of the campus. It was built in 1931-34 in Maybeck's conception of an American Colonial Revival structure, with a limestone exterior. Most of the other buildings Maybeck designed have steel frames and use concrete extensively inside, but have exteriors of stone, brick and timbering. In the later phases of the campus construction, the onsite work was supervised by Henry Gutterson, who also contributed designs for some of the buildings. One architectural oddity on the campus is what is called the "Mistake House", which was used as a design and materials test vehicle by Maybeck.
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