Slide Show: Renovation of Peabody Hall Under Way

Peabody Hall, built in 1913, is undergoing renovation

Workers remove white paint from the original brick.

The curriculum and instruction department hopes to be back in Peabody by summer 2010.

A view inside from the south entrance shows interior work.

A classroom still sports a chalk board on one wall.

An illustration left by a student describes the classroom assessment process.

A college staff member tours the third floor of Peabody.

Faculty and staff are temporarily housed at Stone House South on Arkansas Avenue.

Occupants from other buildings, such as the Graduate Education Building, can watch the work.

Several historical aspects of the building will be restored during the modernization.

A worker spends time cleaning scrollwork that frames the west entrance.

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Renovation of Peabody Hall, which includes removing white paint to reveal the original brick, should finish in 2011.

Restoration and renovation of Peabody Hall on the University of Arkansas campus are under way and expected to be complete at the end of summer 2011.

Many features of the historic building are being restored to their original condition, including the red brick exterior, while the building also is being modernized in the $8.8 million project.

Peabody Hall was the first building built on the campus with private funds. The university constructed the three-story building in 1913 with a contribution of $40,000 from the Peabody Education Fund. The fund was named for George Peabody, a Massachusetts-born and London-based merchant banker who established the fund after the Civil War with $2 million to promote public education.

Peabody has housed the curriculum and instruction department in the College of Education and Health Professions since the building opened. Faculty and staff members are temporarily located in Stone House South on Arkansas Avenue.

The building also was the site of Peabody Elementary School and University High School for more than 50 years, during which time children of faculty and staff members as well as other children from around the state were educated in a public school setting.

You can read more about Peabody Hall and the project on the college's news site.

The College of Education and Health Professions is looking for people who would like to return to the Fayetteville campus for the reopening of Peabody Hall in 2011. Teachers and students who attended the Peabody training school as well as University of Arkansas faculty, staff and students who would like to know more about the reopening ceremonies are asked to contact Heidi Stambuck at 479-575-3138 or stambuck@uark.edu.