Completed in 1951, Tigert Hall launched a new era in campus architecture that was both progressive and compatible with its Collegiate Gothic context. An administrative tower and wings had been a part of the original design of the University Auditorium, but financial constraints set that project aside. In response to the enrollment explosion after World War II, a new seat for the university’s administration was urgent. The Jacksonville firm of Kemp, Bunch, and Jackson was selected to complete the project in association with University Architect Guy Fulton and his assistant Jefferson M. Hamilton. The reinterpreted Collegiate Gothic integrated traditional brick and tile with simplified cast trim in the comparatively massive reinforced concrete structure. The University Seal in the bold grid tower entrance and the plaques representing the University’s colleges identify Tigert Hall as the seat of the University Administration. Planned under the administration of University President John James Tigert, the building commemorates him in its name.
Highlights of Tigert Hall
- Collegiate Gothic transition to the modern post-World War II era
- Plaques representing the colleges on campus at the time of construction
- Materials characteristic of campus
- Modified tower entrance with grid detail language continued in interior
- Interior with expansive open side corridors, marble and terrazzo finishes
3-1/2 stories
Rectangular with projecting end blocks with cross gables
Gable
Adjacent to projecting end blocks on long facades
9 over 9 light
Single hung
Aluminum
Brick is English Bond
Flat light red clay tile with "bumps" ridge tile
Cast stone window surrounds on 4 sides
Cast stone spandrels and vertical fins between windows
Plaques of quatrefoils around balcony and bay windows
Plaques of each college in the university in 1950
Terrazzo floors and marble benches and wainscot in corridors
Faces 13th Street at compus edge
Mass forms defining edge of a large retangular open space to west
Architect: Kemp, Bunch, and Jackson; Jefferson Hamilton;
Supervising Architect: Guy Fulton, 1951
Contractor: C. A. Fielland Co., Inc.
Building Name: Originally, Administration Building, renamed for University President John James Tigert in 1960
