Old Main, Grandview College

Supposedly the inspiration for the design of Old Main at Grandview College was the Belmont Seminary (1890) in Bedford, Virginia. Northern European Baroque architecture of the seventeenth century was an architectural style frequently employed around the turn of the century for American colleges and universities. The Des Moines example illustrates how architects and clients in Iowa were keenly aware of current fashion. The most telling feature of Old Main is its roofscape, composed of curved gable ends and dormers. The walls of this two-and-a-half-story structure on a raised basement are of brick. Stone was used for quoining, as framing around windows and doors, and to bring added accent to the series of dramatic curved gable ends.