Campus Tour

I was the humble recipient of a tour of the near completed Miller Hall at the old Albion Normal School Campus. My tour guide was gracious and rather excited with the prospect of seeing this long neglected resource being brought back to life.

The site has been significantly improved, i.e. the approach has been graded and is a pleasant tree-lined climb to the parking lot, the ground are weed, debris and detritus free. The exterior of the building has been touched up, yet retains it's turn of the century feel. Upon entering Miller Hall one is struck by the amount of work already invested in this once dilapidated building and the remarkable amount left to do with the grand opening coming up soon. The ground floor includes some of the rooms, including ADA accessible berths and baths, as well as a large kitchen and dining area. The decor is tasteful and not altogether out of character for the building. The second floor is mostly berths and baths, but there is a library at the south end of the building that abuts an enclosed veranda. The third (and last) floor is an open media / game room that I am sure will take on different uses by the various clientèle that let this building for their varying purposes.

The floor plan can be viewed at http://albioncampusgrove.com/floorplan.html
Take a look at the rest of the site, it is well done and quite informative.

On the speculation and rumor front, McMurray (sp?) Hall appears to be on the docket for the next round of renovation. I have to wonder if the next building is going to be purposed differently within the business plan or it is an extension of the Miller Hall plan? I could see one of these building being used as an industrial site for some non-noxious effort. A brewery immediately comes to mind as I have seen a number of boutique breweries across the country that cater to local populations and grow into grand concerns later in life. There are a couple of pubs in town that could be the first purveyors of Albion Breweries wares.