Clemson in Pickens County, South Carolina — The American South (South Atlantic)
Holtzendorff Hall
Photographed By Duane and Tracy Marsteller, November 6, 2021
1. Holtzendorff Hall Marker (side A)
In 1913, the Board of Trustees approved a request from President Walter Riggs to approach wealthy businessman and philanthropist John D. Rockefeller for a $50,000 gift to help build a YMCA at the college. In his letter to Rockefeller, Riggs noted Clemson's rural location and growing student body as reasons the school needed such a facility. The Rockefeller Foundation approved the request on May 5, 1914, helping finance the construction of Holtzendorff Hall. After the construction of Fike Recreational Center, Holtzendorff was renovated for academic use.
Completed as a YMCA in 1915 and officially opened on January 1, 1916, Holtzendorff Hall was the first building on campus designed by Rudolph E. Lee, founder of Clemson's architecture program, college architect and professor (1911 to 1940). A swimming pool was added in 1937. It is named for Preston B. Holtzendorff, athletic coach and general secretary of the Clemson YMCA from 1919 to 1959. When athletic facilities were relocated to Fike Recreational Center in the 1970s, Holtzendorff was renovated for academic use. It was added to the National Register of Historic Buildings in 1990.
1915
Listed on the National Register of Historic Places
Erected by
this page online
Topics. This historical marker is listed in this topic list: Education. A significant historical date for this entry is January 1, 1916.
Location. 34° 40.878′ N, 82° 50.252′ W. Marker is in Clemson, South Carolina, in Pickens County. Marker can be reached from Old Greenville Highway (South Carolina Route 93) east of Beta Gamma Street when traveling south. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 198 Old Greenville Hwy, Clemson SC 29631, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker. And Then There Was War (within shouting distance of this marker); Clemson Cannons (within shouting distance of this marker); Godfrey Hall (within shouting distance of this marker); Mell Hall (within shouting distance of this marker); Clemson Military Heritage (about 300 feet away, measured in a direct line); Military Heritage Plaza (about 400 feet away); Integration with Dignity, 1963 (about 500 feet away); Thomas Green Clemson (about 600 feet away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Clemson.
Regarding Holtzendorff Hall. Excerpt from the National Register of Historic Places nomination for Clemson University Historic District I, which includes Holtzendorff Hall:
Holtzendorff Hall (1916): Originally known as the Y.M.C.A. Building, this was one of many Y.M.C.A. facilitiesbuilt through the funding of philanthropist John D. Rockefeller, with matching funds of $50,000. The Young Men's Christian Association had been established at Clemson during the 1890s. This building, completed in 1916, was the first of several on campus by Rudolph E. Lee, a Clemson graduate and chairman of the Department of Architecture. It is also one of several Italian Renaissance Revival buildings Lee designed for Clemson, demonstrating that style's influence on the college's early twentieth-century buildings. The Y.M.C.A. Building was renamed Holtzendorff Hall in 1957 in honor of Preston Paul Holtzendorff, Jr., who served as general secretary of the Clemson Y.M.C.A. for over forty years. It is located on a ridge which once defined the western boundary of the college campus; until the construction of athletic buildings further to the west the Y.M.C.A. Building served many functions now served by Fike Fieldhouse and the Jervey Athletic Center. Holtzendorff Hall is also an important element in defining the enclosure of Bowman Field.Photographed By Duane and Tracy Marsteller, November 6, 20212. Holtzendorff Hall Marker (side B)
Photographed By Duane and Tracy Marsteller, November 6, 2021
3. Holtzendorff Hall Marker
Unknown via Clemson University Libraries / Fair use, circa 1950
4. Preston Brooks Holtzendorff inside the YMCA Building
via NPS, unknown
5. Clemson University Historic District I
National Register of Historic Places Digital Archive on NPGallery website entry
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Credits. This page was last revised on April 27, 2022. It was originally submitted on November 6, 2021, by Duane and Tracy Marsteller of Murfreesboro, Tennessee. This page has been viewed 502 times since then and 117 times this year. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on November 6, 2021, by Duane and Tracy Marsteller of Murfreesboro, Tennessee. 3, 4. submitted on November 8, 2021, by Duane and Tracy Marsteller of Murfreesboro, Tennessee. 5. submitted on April 27, 2022, by Larry Gertner of New York, New York.
