Langston University Gets Grant To Rehab Cottage Row

LANGSTON, OK -- The National Park Service recently awarded a $500,000 grant to Langston University to restore cottages on the campus that are more than 70 years old.

Located at the southern entrance of the campus, the cottages were built in the 1930s to house faculty members, and later went on to double as office buildings until 2006. With one of the cottages being destroyed by a fire, four of the remaining five cottages were converted back into private living quarters in 2006 at the request of current LU president, JoAnn Haysbert.

The NPS, which is a division of the United States Department of Interior, offered the grant under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Stimulus Bill), to assist LU in preserving its Cottage Row Historic District. 

"We are very appreciative of this grant," said Nancy Alexander, project director. "The cottages were hand-built in the 1930s by Langston students in an effort to provide housing for faculty members. The fact that they have weathered and survived several ice storms and tornadoes shows the love and care from which they were originally built."

The cottages are scheduled to undergo a significant facelift including roof repairs, window replacements, and other updates to bring them in compliance with ADA and other building codes.

Thought to be among some of the oldest buildings on LU's main campus, renovations on the historic cottages should be completed in the fall of 2012.