Higher Education · Adaptive Reuse
Powell Hall
Valdosta State University · Valdosta, Georgia
A 1940 WPA library dedicated by Eleanor Roosevelt became Valdosta State’s music building after a $4.4 million rehabilitation.
- Built
- 1940
- Dedicated
- March 27, 1941
- Rehabilitation
- $4.4 million
- Recital hall
- 200 seats
The project
Powell Hall was built in 1940 with Works Progress Administration support as Valdosta State’s library. First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt dedicated it on March 27, 1941. After Odum Library opened in 1978, Powell was used as a lecture building.
A $4.4 million rehabilitation began in 2018 and was completed in 2021. The former reading room became a 200-seat recital hall, while other floors gained faculty studios, classrooms, practice rooms, and student gathering areas.
The work repaired the Collegiate Gothic exterior, restored interior woodwork and exposed timber trusses, added modern mechanical systems and accessibility, and won the Georgia Trust’s 2022 Excellence in Rehabilitation award.
Research record
Sources and provenance
Project facts and photography were archived from the firm’s public portfolio and cross-checked against the supplementary sources below.
Powell Hall photography courtesy of Valdosta State University, as credited by the firm.