Old Main
Franklin and Marshall College
This brick building is Lancaster’s most iconic Gothic Revival structure: Old Main at Franklin and Marshall College.
It was the first building constructed on campus, in 1854 – 56. The architects were Dixon, Balbirnie, and Dixon of Baltimore.
Old Main is located on the city’s highest hill. The building was originally home to classrooms and a chapel. It is flanked by two smaller Gothic Revival buildings, also built in the 1850s. They originally housed literary debating societies: Goethean Hall and Diagnothian Hall.
Old Main faces east toward downtown like a medieval cathedral of higher education. Its bell tower has four octagonal turrets crowned with four pinnacles. The entry and windows are trimmed with limestone. Pointed arches and vertical lines define this Perpendicular Gothic style.
525 Old Main Drive (Building #8) Lancaster, Pennsylvania
Above: Old Main (center)
Goethean Hall (left) Diagnothian Hall (right)
Above: Goethean Hall (left), Old Main (right)
Rhododendron in flower