Morehouse College's campus is undergoing a renewal. (Julien Virgin/WABE)
School bells echo down 830 Westview Drive — Morehouse College’s Southwest Atlanta Campus.
“It’s an active day for students, staff, and faculty. You’ll see individuals moving to and from classes,” said Sule Carpenter, senior project manager in the Office of Capital Improvement and Campus Planning.
Carpenter is a Morehouse class of 1994 graduate, and his two sons are currently enrolled at the historically black college, whose mission has been educating African American men since the Civil War.
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Samuel L Jackson, Spike Lee are just a few of notable “Men of Consequence” Morehouse has produced.
A statue of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. on the Morehouse College campus. (Julien Virgin/WABE)
“It’s a very unique experience that you get here in the United States,” Carpenter said.
The institution started in Augusta and was moved to Atlanta in 1887.
Campus is currently undergoing a facelift — new residents halls are under construction, while some older ones are scheduled to be demolished.
A new student center is set to be erected which will contain a cafeteria, a new bookstore, and eateries.
This is all a part of Morehouse College’s “Campus of the Future” — a $500 million campaign that would modernize their existing facilities and build new infrastructure.
“While we want to see the campus advance and we are looking towards a new modern campus, we’re also focused on the preservation of the existing campus.”
Sule Carpenter, senior project manager in the Office of Capital Improvement and Campus Planning
Such as the tan-orange brick academic buildings of Claude B. Dansby, Benjamin G. Brawley, and John H. Wheeler academic halls — where hundreds of thousands of Morehouse students currently, or formerly, attended class.
C.B. Dansby Hall on the Morehouse College campus. (Julien Virgin/WABE)
The Benjamin G. Brawley Hall on the Morehouse College campus. (Julien Virgin/WABE)
The John H. Wheeler Hall on the Morehouse College campus. (Julien Virgin/WABE)
The college received a $150,000 grant from the National Trust for Historic Preservation’s African American Cultural Heritage Action Fund to support building assessments and historic structures reports for each building — which were constructed in the 1960s and ’70s by Leon Allain, a Black architect.
“These three buildings that he designed at Morehouse are standing examples of historic monumental architecture,” said Action Fund Executive Director Brent Leggs.
He said the Action Fund was created in 2017 in the aftermath of the Charlottesville Riots, as “an opportunity to help expand the American story and build a true national identity that reflects America’s diversity through the preservation and interpretation of Black history.”
“Morehouse College is creating the next generation of Black leaders, and we want them to understand the role of preservation in society and their responsibility in helping to care for Black history in physical and natural forms,” said Leggs.
University officials said funds will improve HVAC systems, increase energy efficiency, and explore additional building renovations for the next generation of Morehouse Men.
“It shows the intentionality of the institution. Our commitment to preserving the history,”said Carpenter. “We want to preserve that history. Modernize it, but at the same time preserve it.”
A mural depicting athletes and others on Morehouse College’s campus. (Julien Virgin/WABE)
