Joe and Emily Lowe Art Center
Money Donated for Construction of Building: April 1951
Construction Began: August 1951
Dedicated: May 13 & 14, 1952
Architects: Harry A. King, F. Curtis King, and Lorimer Rich
Contractors: Dawson Brothers Construction Co, Syracuse
Materials: Faced with red-brick and trimmed in limestone
Location: Corner Walnut Place and University Place
Cost: $294,000
Notes:
At the June 1951 meeting of the Board of Trustees, Chancellor Tolley announced that Joe and Emily Lowe of New York City were donating $150,000 toward the construction of the School of Art building and were establishing in the Joe and Emily Lowe Foundation, an endowment of $250,000 to maintain the building. Joe Lowe, who grew up in Syracuse, was President of the Joe Lowe Corporation, manufacturer and distributor of popsicles, fudgesicles, and creamsicles, and an importing firm. Emily Lowe, a painter, had had her works exhibited widely, including a show at Syracuse University in 1950. Mr. Lowe had previously established a scholarship fund at Syracuse University for promising young men and women, the winners receiving "Popsicle Youth Awards."
When construction of the Joe and Emily Lowe Art Center began, four cottages (Annable, Wilbur, Clark and University) that occupied the site were razed. This was the first building completed in the University's postwar construction program. The entire northern exposure was covered by prismatic glass to provide evenly diffused lighting to the four classroom studios on the first and second floor. The building contained exhibition halls, offices of the School of Art, five studio classrooms with movable partitions to change their size, a large lecture room, a student lounge in the basement, as well as exhibition preparation and storage space.
The first floor contained a large exhibition gallery for showing traveling exhibitions, corridor for student paintings gallery, large studio classroom and four offices. On the second floor there were three classrooms studios for figure drawing and painting and large seminar room, student lounge, rest rooms, lockers.
The building was designed as a classroom building and was not large enough to house all the departments of the School of Art In the summer of 1975 the administrative offices of the College of Visual and Performing Arts were moved to Crouse College. The Lowe Art Center moved to the former Sims Dining Hall and renamed Lowe Art Gallery. The Syracuse University bookstore took over the building which was later enclosed to become the southeast section of the Schine Student Center.
In 1976 the University received from the Joe and Emily Lowe foundation a $110,000 grant toward completion of the gallery and its exhibition and teaching programs. The grant also funded an exhibition program, a museology program, continued publications and visition speakers. The new gallery was climate controlled, and had a graphic arts workroom and a library research and study area in the museum training laboratory.
