Institution

Potomac Hall was built in 1977 as a temporary accommodation but was utilized for 33 years. Located in the middle of campus, slightly south of the Powell Center and north of Maggs Gym and Devilbiss Hall, Potomac served as classrooms, offices, and as the college center before the construction of the Guerrieri Student Union. It also housed the Gull’s Nest, Book Rack, Modern Languages Laboratory, Art Department, and art studios in the 1990s. Despite complaints about the building’s air quality, furniture, cooling and heating system, its outdated technology, and aesthetic, Potomac Hall avoided demolition in 1991 during a discussion for a new library and again in 1998 when SSU officials were planning a new building to accommodate overcrowding. However, Potomac Hall did not escape the wrecking ball in 2000. Faculty housed in Potomac Hall were moved to the Allenwood Shopping Center and Henson Hall was constructed on the newly-cleared ground.

Potomac Hall, also known as the College Center, 1980

Potomac Hall, also known as the College Center, 1983

Potomac Hall (Right) and Powell Dining Hall (Left), 1980

The back of Potomac Hall (left) and Powell Dining Hall (Right), 1982

Salisbury: From Normal School to University, 1925-2001

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Built in 1977 as a temporary accommodation, Potomac Hall, also known as the College Center, was located in the middle of the Salisbury State College (later Salisbury State University (SSU); now Salisbury University) campus. During its tenure, Potomac Hall had classrooms, offices, Gull's Nest, the Book Rack, Modern Languages laboratory, the Art Department, and various art studios. Despite its primitive design and constant campus complaints about the quality of the building's features, Potomac Hall served the SSU community until 2000 when the building was demolished to make way for Henson Hall.

Potomac Hall

Director

Salisbury University’s By-Gone Buildings Walking Tour is a tribute to the buildings that made their mark on campus but are no longer present at our ever-growing university. Alumni have fond memories of these by-gone campus buildings where they forged relationships and experienced college life, which can be remembered through photographs, yearbooks, and other items from the University Archives. Explore a part of campus not visible to current visitors—and “reverse the wrecking ball” on Salisbury University’s by-gone buildings. 

Allenwood Shopping Center resided on the southeast corner of Salisbury State College and opened around 1974. For the next 24 years, the shopping center would see various retail shops and restaurants lease space, including Beanies Coffee House, Diamondhead, Kinko’s Copies, Four Star Pizza, Pappys, and Penny’s Hair Palace, among others.President Thomas Bellavance wished to purchase Allenwood in the 1980s, but the idea was dismissed due to lack of funds. However, in 1997, the SSU Foundation bought the Shopping Center that sat on 2 acres of land and had 7 tenants, including popular restaurants such as Fratelli’s, Nacho Pete’s, and Papa John’s, for $2 million in anticipation of future campus expansion. For the next few years, the building housed existing businesses and several SSU offices. In 1999, the Allenwood Shopping Center was renamed the Allenwood Center Offices and some of the space was repurposed as temporary faculty offices for the Psychology Department and included a computer lab, observation/video rooms, a Psychological/Learning Lab, and a classroom.In 2003, the Salisbury University Facilities Unit suggested that the Allenwood Center Offices be the site for the new Perdue Business School, a new field house, or a new performing arts center. Although the Allenwood site had potential for these projects, it remained the home of the Psychology Department until 2009 when it was demolished to make room for a new residence hall with ground-level retail space, Sea Gull Square.

Allenwood Shopping Center opened in 1974 and sat on the southeast corner of the Salisbury State College (later Salisbury State University (SSU), now Salisbury University) campus. Home to numerous retail and restaurant vendors, the shopping center was a popular place for students and the local community. Some of its tenants included Nacho Pete's, Pappys, Fratelli's, Diamondhead, and Papa Johns. The strip mall was eventually acquired by the College in 1997 and continued to serve the public as a retail space. However, over time, SSU took over some of the space for offices and classrooms for the Psychology Department. In 1999, the building was renamed Allenwood Center Offices and continued to house the Psychology Department until its demolition in 2009 to make room for a new residence hall with ground-level retail space, Sea Gull Square.

Allenwood Center Offices

Built in 1965 to house the college’s Music Department and provide an adequate space for musical practice and performances, the Musical Arts Center was developed on the site of the Shoreman Restaurant located off Route 13. The building contained a 17-piano electronic piano laboratory, two classrooms, five practice rooms, a large classroom for performances, and faculty offices. The college’s choirs, chorus, and instrumental ensembles used the building as their practice and performance area.After the construction of Fulton Hall in 1991, the Music Department moved into the new, larger liberal arts building. In 1992 the Musical Arts Center was repurposed to hold the college’s Administrative Services Department. Public Safety also moved to the Musical Arts Center in 1998 but, by 2000, only the University Police occupied the Center. In 2003, Telecommunications and Classroom Technology joined the University Police; however, the building was demolished in 2009 to make way for the Perdue School of Business and its adjoining parking lot.

The Musical Arts Center was constructed on the site of the Shoreman Restaurant located off Route 13 in 1965. With plans to house the college’s Music Department and provide an adequate space for musical practice and performances, the Musical Arts Center contained a piano laboratory, classrooms, practice rooms, and offices. The college’s choirs, chorus, and instrumental ensembles used the building as their practice and performance area. After the construction of Fulton Hall, the Musical Arts Center was repurposed to house administrative offices. Other departments, such as Public Safety and the University Police, also shared the space until it was demolished in 2009 to clear space for Perdue Hall.

Musical Arts Center

In 1966, the Salisbury State College campus dedicated a new 28,756 square foot building to provide dining and recreational space for 1000 students. The Memorial Student Union (MSU) commemorated the former students who served in the armed forces, especially during World War II and the Korean War. It housed the College post office, bookstore, snack bar and several offices as well as two dining halls. The Maryland Room served food cafeteria style, while the Salisbury Room required “proper attire” and had its own buffet service with candlelight, linens, and dinner music.In the mid-1970s, the MSU was renovated and became the only dining hall on campus. Additionally, the building was renamed the Ruth Powell Dining Hall after “Miss Ruth,” the College’s first dietitian and “house mother.” Managed by an Advisory Board composed of administrative personnel and students appointed by the Student Government Association, Powell Dining Hall held many social events for students and faculty.In 1988, many student services moved to the newly-built University Center (now Guerrieri Student Union) and Dining Services moved into the new Commons in 1997. The Crossroads Pub, which served food and alcohol to students who were of legal age, moved into the now-vacant dining areas of Powell from 1997 until 1999, when it was replaced by Gull’s Nest, located in the University Center. The Ruth Powell Dining Hall was demolished in 2000, making room for the new Henson Science building.

In 1966, the Salisbury State College campus dedicated a new building to provide dining and recreational space for 1000 students. The Memorial Student Union (MSU) housed the College post office, bookstore, snack bar and several offices as well as two dining halls. The Maryland Room served food cafeteria style, while the Salisbury Room required “proper attire” and had its own buffet service with candlelight, linens, and dinner music. Later, the building was renamed the Ruth Powell Dining Hall after “Miss Ruth,” the College’s first dietitian and “house mother.” The Crossroads Pub took over the space when dining services moved to the new Commons building in 1997. While the pub was well used by students, the building was demolished three years later, in 2000, to make room for the new Henson Science building.

Powell Dining Hall 

In 1953, the Maryland Board of Education allocated $692,500 to Maryland State Teachers College to construct a demonstration elementary school for teacher’s training at the college. The elementary school had previously been housed in the college’s main building (later named Holloway Hall), and plans had been discussed to remodel it. However, these plans were abandoned in favor of a new building all together. Ground broke for the new Campus School in August of 1953, with Governor Theodore McKeldin in attendance at the ceremony. Construction of the Campus School concluded in November 1954. The school opened to students in time for the 1955-1956 school year. A brick structure set to accommodate 200 students, the Campus School featured six classrooms with acoustic ceilings. Also included in the building were a work-conference room, cafeteria, gymnasium, library, auditorium, health suite, storage spaces, custodian room, principal’s office, and teacher suite. Outside of the building were an outdoor classroom and playground. After 11 years of operation in 1966, the Campus School was officially named the Caruthers Campus School after Dr. Thomas Caruthers, an early professor at the college as well as the first principal of the demonstration school.Caruthers Campus School did not live on much longer after its naming. In 1968, Governor Spiro Agnew brought the status of campus schools in the state of Maryland into question over the amount spent on them in comparison to public schools. The school’s lack of integration was also cited as a reason to doubt its future, as 29% percent of students in the Wicomico County Public School district were African American and only 2 attended Caruthers Campus School. While many, including college president Dr. Wilbur Devilbiss, fought to keep the school running, the Caruthers Campus School closed in 1969. The building then became simply Caruthers Hall.Caruthers Hall served in a variety of roles after the Campus School closed. As an academic hall, it became home to the Admissions Department, business, and financial offices in the 1970s, as well as a computer center in the 1980s. In 1979, the building underwent a renovation to make it less school-like to house the education department, which remained there until Conway Hall (originally the Teachers Education and Technology Center or TETC) opened in 2008. Caruthers Hall also housed several business school offices until Perdue Hall was completed in 2011. From 1987 until its demolition in 2013, Caruthers Hall served as the home of WSCL, a National Public Radio affiliate. The station moved to a complex on Power Street in 2013 after the building was razed to make way for the Guerrieri Academic Commons.

Caruthers Hall is primarily remembered as home to the campus elementary school at Maryland State Teachers College from 1955-1969. The school and building was named after Dr. Thomas Caruthers. Caruthers was the original math teacher at the college, as well as the first principal of the elementary school. Once the Campus Elementary School closed in 1969, Caruthers Hall served a variety of uses in its later years, including housing Salisbury University’s education school, as well as the local affiliate of National Public Radio, WSCL. It was demolished in 2013 to make way for the construction of the Guerrieri Academic Commons.

Caruthers Hall

Tawes Gymnasium was Salisbury University’s primary gym from 1961 to 1977. Maryland State Teachers College (now Salisbury University) began construction of the $384,000 stand-alone gym in early 1960. It opened in time for the Fall 1961 semester. The gym featured a 972-seat basketball stadium with electronic scoreboards, classrooms, a lobby, locker and shower areas, a physical therapy center, weight room, and boxing and fencing room. The building also had provisions for volleyball and badminton. The gym was officially dedicated on January 16, 1962, and renamed Tawes Gym after Maryland Governor J. Millard Tawes in 1966.In 1977, the construction of an additional gymnasium, Maggs Physical Activities Center, changed the purpose of Tawes Gym. It was now primarily dedicated to the school’s intramural teams, as well as student organizations such as the WSSC student radio station, Black Student Union, The Flyer newspaper, Scarab literary magazine, and Evergreen yearbook, among others.When Salisbury State University planned to open a center for the institution’s liberal arts school, discussions of renovating Tawes into an art building began; however, this plan was abandoned in favor of a new building. In 1989, Tawes Gym was demolished to make room for Fulton Hall.

Tawes Gymnasium was Salisbury University’s primary gym from 1961 to 1977. The gym featured a 972-seat basketball stadium with electronic scoreboards, classrooms, a lobby, locker and shower areas, a physical therapy center, weight room, and boxing and fencing room. The gym was officially dedicated on January 16, 1962, and renamed Tawes Gym after Maryland Governor J. Millard Tawes in 1966. With the construction of Maggs Physical Activities Center, Tawes Gym became the home of the school's intramural teams and various student organizations. In 1989, Tawes Gym was demolished to make room for Fulton Hall.

Salisbury University By Gone Buildings Walking Tour

Potomac Hall

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