Dr. Albert Elias Maltby was the second principal of Slippery Rock Normal School, serving from 1890 to 1916. During his tenure, he not only oversaw administrative functions and taught classes, but he also led the school in the first wave of expansion as the construction of new facilities began to better accommodate student needs.
This wave of development saw the three original wooden buildings replaced with six buildings of brick and stone construction. All of the construction projects of Dr. Maltby's tenure were handled by the architect Mr. Sidney Winfield Foulk of New Castle, Pennsylvania.
The design of Old Main speaks to a simpler time. The administrative hub of the campus, it is the oldest remaining structure still in use today. Old Main is an icon of the university.
(Photograph, sepia, c.1898)
Dr. Maltby led the renovations of North Hall, the women’s dormitory. The building incorporated Norman and Gothic architectural influences, along with a Turkish tower. North Hall contained 148 rooms, including the dining hall, and housed 300 students and the president and his family.
(Photograph, black and white, c.1900)
On May 13, 1895, the men’s dormitory known as South Hall burned down. Dr. Maltby ordered the construction of a new dorm for male students the following year.
(Photograph, black and white, c.1904)
Constructed in 1902 as the area’s elementary school, West Hall provided Slippery Rock Normal School with a “model school.” The model school provided a place for students to observe teachers and gain experience in a classroom setting.
(Illustration, c.1912)
Constructed in 1906 of yellow brick, West Gym features a round portico supported by limestone pillars. A pair of lion statues, donated by the Class of 1908, flank these pillars. West Gym served as the gymnasium for the Normal School.
(Photograph, black and white, c.1919)
