{"nrhp_refnum":"82002521","name":"Pemberton Hall and Gymnasium","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"Lincoln Ave. and 4th St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Charleston","county":"Coles County","state":"IL","lat":39.47628696700008,"lon":-88.18493822199997,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1982-08-26","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Education","Social History"],"significance_levels":["state"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A women's dormitory with attached gymnasium on the original Eastern Illinois University campus in Charleston, Coles County, Illinois, built between 1907 and 1909 to designs by W. Carbys Zimmerman.","why_significant":"The nomination argues it was the first dormitory at a publicly supported institution of higher learning in Illinois. It resulted from years of effort by school president Livingston C. Lord and State Senator Stanton C. Pemberton. It set a precedent for dormitories at other state colleges and universities, and it served as a social center for students and faculty.","narrative":"Pemberton Hall and Gymnasium is a Collegiate Gothic Revival dormitory on the original campus of Eastern Illinois University in Charleston. Built between 1907 and 1909 of local limestone with a red tile roof, it has turrets with lancet windows, gables, finials, dormers and a castellated entrance. A gymnasium at the south end was converted to a textbook library in 1968, and a compatible addition was built on the north end in 1962. The building matters as the first dormitory at a publicly supported institution of higher learning in Illinois. University president Livingston C. Lord campaigned for a women's residence from 1899, and two appropriations were vetoed before State Senator Stanton C. Pemberton secured approval in 1907. The hall opened in January 1909, housing one hundred women and serving as a social center. Other state schools soon built women's dormitories of their own, beginning in 1913. It remains a dormitory today, and much of its original woodwork, fireplaces and staircase survive.","period_of_significance":"1900-","architect_builder":"W. Carbys Zimmerman","architectural_style":"Collegiate Gothic Revival","criteria":[],"status_note":"Listed in excellent condition and in use as a dormitory; the gymnasium was converted to a textbook library in 1968 and the fourth floor is closed for safety reasons.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:55:35.343124-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/8/8919/28891908/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_IL/82002521.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/82002521/674a5865c7-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/82002521/674a5865c7-1600.webp","licence":"Public domain","author":"Nyttend","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Pemberton_Hall,_Eastern_Illinois_University.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Nyttend</a>, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Pemberton_Hall,_Eastern_Illinois_University.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/28891908","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pemberton_Hall_(Eastern_Illinois_University)","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7161885"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/illinois/coles-county/pemberton-hall-and-gymnasium-82002521/"}