Painting classroom in Main
Credit
Justin Tsucalas
Located at 1300 W. Mount Royal Avenue, Main Building is across the street from Cohen Plaza, Fox Building, and Brown Center.
Main Building
MICA's Main Building houses the Office of Admission & Financial Aid, the Office of the President, the Office of the Provost/Academic Affairs, the First Year Experience and Photography departments, as well as studio space for painting and drawing classes.
An Historic Gem
- On the National Register of Historic Places, construction was completed in 1908 and was funded by The State of Maryland, the Carnegie Foundation, and local benefactors.
- New York-based architects Pell & Corbett were awarded the contract when they won a $500 design contest sponsored by the New York Association of Independent Architects. Otto Fuchs designed the interior studio plans.
- The architecture was intended to evoke a feeling of the Grand Canal of Venice, c. 1400.
- The exterior marble was excavated from the Baltimore County quarry near Cockeysville, Maryland. It is the same marble used to build the Washington Monument in Baltimore, designed by Robert Mills, and part of the Washington Monument in Washington, D.C.
- Architectural features include the main entrance, a large marble staircase, stained-glass skylight and the names of Renaissance masters surrounding the entrance to the second floor.
- The exterior of the northeast façade features four stone memorial medallions: one for the city, one for the state and two others honoring College benefactors Andrew Carnegie and Michael Jenkins.
- In 1908, the New York Association of Independent Architects awarded the building a gold key, the highest award in architecture at the time.
Throughout the Main Building, plaster replicas of Greek and Roman statues offer students study targets for their first year.
The Main Building's marble staircase is one of campus's most distinctive architectural features.
Main O Gallery exhibits work by the students of photography and sculpture. It is one of a number of campus-wide sites for the Commencement Exhibition.
“I had actually seen the stairs of the Main Building online before, without any context. And I thought they were one of the most beautiful staircases I had ever seen.” - Faith Couch ’19, Photography
