Dance/Marine Science – UGA 1030 (1928, 1970; Category 2, 4). Although they share the same UGA building number, the Marine Sciences Building and Dance Building are two separate structures constructed at different times. The Dance Building was constructed in 1928 as the Woman’s Physical Education Building. The Marine Sciences Building was constructed in 1970 as a Modern addition to the existing building, providing an open gymnasium. Later, the dance program took over the original building and the addition was converted to classrooms for the marine studies program.
The Marine Sciences Building is a two-story brick building with a large, almost square footprint. Its primary entrance faces Sanford Drive, and it is connected to the Dance Building at its rear, east facade by a narrow linking corridor. The main entrance is of Mid-Century Modern design, with a split central mass from which projects a concrete canopy sheltering the glass entrance doors below. To the sides, vertical concrete arches frame vertical brick panels with contemporary side windows and stucco infill.
More traditional paired double-hung windows are located on the north and south elevations and may be of earlier design and construction than the Mid-Century Modern elements of the building. Original windows have been replaced with metal double-hung windows with clad frames.
Dance Building – UGA 1030 (1928, Category 2). The Dance Building was constructed in 1928 as a Women’s Physical Education Building. The Neoclassical Revival building features 22-foot-high painted terra cotta Ionic columns and a traditional entablature with cornice, frieze, and architrave. The building includes a swimming pool in the basement and a gymnasium at the first floor level, now used for dance.
The formal entrance and portico of the Women’s Physical Education Building faces north toward the site of the former 1922 amphitheater, now the location of the Boyd Center. With Soule Hall (1920) and Dawson Hall (1932), the Physical Education Building created a complex devoted to woman’s studies at the University. Along with Soule Hall, the siting of the building facing the amphitheater created a quadrangle reinforcing the Beaux-Arts layout of South Campus before changes in the Modern era.
A date stone on the building states: “Commemorating the Establishment of the Degree Course Physical Education for Women, June 11, 1925; Erected 1928.”
The Physical Education Building has a two-story mass facing north with a one- story mass behind. The rear of the building has been adapted to its most frequently used entrance today. The building is clad with tan brick with terra cotta and stone detailing that has been painted white. Most significantly, the building retains its original steel windows, which are important character- defining features. Some of the windows are two stories high. Most have central, operating awning sash.
Original entrance doors to the building have been replaced with modern metal doors. On the interior of the building a significant amount of historic building fabric remains in public spaces as well as in gymnasiums, classrooms, and other spaces. Contemporary renovations have been made to some spaces without altering historic fabric. A new, contemporary dance theater has been added to the building to support the dance program with modern facilities.
The Dance Building is in good condition, though the original steel windows are in need of maintenance. The building has been rehabilitated but retains integrity and significance to the Beaux-Arts period of the University as well as to women’s programming at UGA, and appears to contribute to a National Register- eligible historic district. It is assessed as a Category 2 resource.
