Location Information
(for the Administration Building)
Name:Administration Building [Rosenwald Building]
Address:Prentiss Normal and Industrial Institute
City/County:Prentiss, Jefferson Davis County
Architectural Information
Construction Date:1926
No. of Stories:1
Registration Information
NR District Name:Prentiss Normal and Industrial Institute (2016)
    NR Status:Contributing
    Element No.:1
Mississippi Landmark Information
Designated:11-14-2002
Recorded:02-10-2003
Book/Vol. No.:V. 184, p. 193
Easement Information
Date Signed:04-12-2007
Expires:04-12-2032
Easement Type:Preservation/Maintenance
Book/Vol. No.:V.203 pg. 213-214
Context/Comments
The Administration Building, constructed in 1926 and paid for by the Julius Rosenwald Fund, is a rare example of a concrete-block Rosenwald school building. It is the only surviving Rosenwald building of its type, out of at least thirty mostly wood-framed identical buildings that were built in the state.

This building is listed as a contributing element (element #1) in the Prentiss Normal and Industrial Institute Historic District, which was placed on the National Register on 16 May 2016. It was designated a Mississippi Landmark at owner request on 14 November 2002.

It is included in "Buildings of Mississippi" (2020) (p. 305, in the listing for Prentiss Institute, PW8).
Brief Description
The Rosenwald Building is an H-plan, one-story, rusticated concrete block administration building on a poured concrete foundation with a cross-gable composition shingle roof with exposed rafter ends and two interior brick chimneys. The building faces west and has a seven-bay auditorium at the center connecting two classroom wings that extend to the rear to form a courtyard. A one-story shed porch with wood posts extends across the auditorium façade between the classroom wings. A central entrance at the façade with double leaf doors and the multi-light transom is flanked to either side by paired wood six-over-six double hung sash windows and similar single windows. Nine-over-nine light double hung sash windows are centered at the façade of each classroom wing. Three two-light clerestory windows are centered at the façade above the porch, lighting the auditorium. The south elevation has three five-unit grouped nine-over-nine light windows at the first floor with a series of single and three-light windows at the basement. Entrances are centered under the two eastern windows at the basement level and have shed canopies with wood posts. The first floor level of the north elevation is similar to the south elevation and has three similar five-unit grouped windows. The basement level has no window or door openings. The rear elevation has two four-unit grouped nine-over-nine windows at its two central auditorium bays and double six-over-six windows at the rear classroom wings. Small frame additions have been added at the east end of each wing to house bathrooms. Shed porches extend between the bathrooms and the rear elevation. The exterior walls of the building are unpainted rusticated concrete block with stucco at the gable ends.

The interior of the building has a large assembly room at the core with a small stage centered at its south end that is recessed in the area between the north front and rear H wings. The stage is framed by a wide arched opening and projects slightly into the room and has a decorative fascia. The assembly room has a beaded board ceiling with modern reproduction school light fixtures and a hardwood floor. Walls are finished with sheet rock. A kitchen and service area has been created at the rear (N end) of the assembly room in a partitioned classroom in the north classroom wing and is accessed by two large cased openings with transoms. Restrooms flank the kitchen to the east. A classroom that is now used as a museum is located in the rear of the north classroom wing and is accessed by a single paneled door with transom at the east end of the north wall of the assembly room. A similar entrance at the west end of the same wall accesses another classroom at the front-north wing. Similar classrooms are located in the south classroom wing. A series of small ancillary service rooms are located within the basement.


The building was restored in 2013 in consultation with the Mississippi Department of Archives and History and is in excellent condition.