Brigham Young University is planning to demolish an 80-year-old campus facility that has served as student housing, a museum and overflow space.
BYU Administrative Vice President Brian K. Evans announced that the city of Provo, Utah, has issued a demolition permit for Allen Hall.
The university says Allen Hall opened in 1938 as student housing. From 1962 to 1980, it served missionaries of the Church Language Training Mission, and from 1980 to 2014, it was the home of the Museum of Peoples and Cultures.
Since 2014, the facility has been used for overflow space during periods when university personnel have been displaced because of campus construction.
"The building is now 80 years old, has failing systems and is not suitable for renovation or any permanent university purpose.," Evans said in his announcement. "Abatement of hazardous materials is currently underway and demolition should be completed by mid-August. Long-term plans for the lot have not been determined, but for now the university will cover the cleared land with grass."
BYU also is trying to determine what to do with another aging campus building, Amanda Knight Hall. lt was completed in 1939 as student housing for women and subsequently served missionaries of the Church Language Training Mission from 1964 to 1976.
"Amanda Knight Hall is also failing and presents functional challenges and safety risks," Evans says. "The university is looking to preserve the architectural features of the building by constructing a replica of the original on the current building site, while making the space usable for ongoing academic and academic-support purposes."
