Old Main (Arizona State University)
Old Main, at 400 East Tyler Mall on the Tempe campus of Arizona State University, is the oldest building on the campus. It was built in 1898 and was designed by W. A. McGinnis in the Victorian Queen Anne style with Richardsonian Romanesque influences. Along with the Administration/Science Building (now the University Club) and a third building no longer extant, Old Main defined the first quad on the campus of the Arizona Territorial Normal School; Arizona would not become a state for 14 years after Old Main was dedicated. Old Main was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1985 as "Main Building, Tempe Normal School" The building has been restored since it was received historic status. History Construction began on Old Main in 1894, and it was dedicated in February 1898. The building was originally all classrooms on the second and third floor, with an auditorium (the Assembly Hall) on the upper floor and a library on the lower level. In 1911, Theodore Roosevelt came to Arizona for the dedication of the Roosevelt Dam, and spoke on the steps of Old Main. In his speech, he envisioned the opportunities the dam and the resulting irrigation for farming