About Meredith Hall
Meredith Hall is the School of Journalism and Mass Communication's main building at Drake University. Named for the former secretary of agriculture and esteemed founder of Meredith Publishing Company, Edwin Thomas Meredith, the black glass and steel building was conceived in December of 1961 with the unveiling of the architect's plans.
The famous 20th century architect Mies van der Rohe was hired as the chief designer. Born on March 27, 1886 in Aachen, Germany, Rohe was widely considered to be among the foremost architects of his time. Colleague Peter Carter considered him to be a "founding father of modern architecture and the master builder of steel and glass."
The design
The building's design and construction confirmed to many at Drake of the university's desire to create a campus that show-cased distinguished modern architecture. Meredith was actually only part of a 5 million dollar expansion project announced in November of 1959.