Built in 1914 as Ohio’s first historical museum, Sullivant Hall was the first building designed by OSU faculty architect Joseph Bradford. The Neo-Classical Revival style building was named for Joseph Sullivant, 1 of 5 original University Trustees. He was also the son of Lucas Sullivant who founded Franklinton – the first permanent settlement in central Ohio -- in 1797 before Columbus was founded in 1812. Joseph Sullivant is also credited with securing Columbus as the site for the Ohio Agricultural and Mechanical College, as Ohio State was known in 1871. The building was the official state memorial for Ohio soldiers who died in World War I. Most recently it has been renovated again.
In the 1970s, the former museum was repurposed by the University. Currently, it is home to the Department of Dance, one of the most highly-regarded dance programs in the country. The building also houses Ohio State’s newly-renamed Billy Ireland Cartoon Library and Museum which was established in 1977. The Cartoon Library and Museum is the country’s largest and most comprehensive academic research facilities documenting printed cartoon art and is named for famed Columbus Dispatch newspaper cartoonist Billy Ireland. Ireland was a nationally-known social commentator of the early 20th century who was admired by humorist Will Rodgers for his wry wit and gentle satire.
The classical style of Sullivant Hall is complemented by the main campus entrance named the Patriarch’s Gateway after the group of early classes that started the memorial project in 1912. It is also known as the Graduates’ Gateway and the Alumni Gateway. Other classes continued the project to include the curved benches, and during a ceremony in 1941, the gateway was dedicated, symbolizing the front door of the University. Here too, is where OSU posted the mounting casualty list of its fallen students and faculty members during World War II. If protest and civic awareness can be considered an art form, then it should be noted the Gateway has been a colorful canvas for demonstrators.