One of the last historical remnants hearkening back to Penn State's past as a small agriculture college will soon be permanently erased from campus.
Birch Cottage is slated for demolition as soon as this fall to make way for a new science building, said Paul Ruskin, customer service coordinator for the Office of the Physical Plant.
Built in 1915, Birch Cottage and the neighboring Spruce and Pine Cottages are some of the oldest buildings on campus.
Though Birch Cottage will be destroyed, Spruce and Pine Cottages will be spared, said Ruskin.
"The decision was made that we could maintain only two of the three cottages," Ruskin said. "There is more architectural interest in Pine and Spruce Cottage."
The State College Historic Resources Commission has been working with OPP to try to save Birch Cottage, said Rochelle Paletta, borough planner and a member of the commission.
"We suggested that they try to find another location on campus for the cottage," Paletta said.
There were also suggestions of donating the house to Habitat for Humanity.
However, moving the cottage may be just as detrimental to the campus as keeping it, said Ruskin.
"We found moving the cottage would be a problem because of the elms around it, Ruskin said.
OPP determined that moving the cottage could damage the surrounding elms, which are as much a part of the campus scenery as the cottage, he added.
Stacey Friedman (freshman-psychology) said that the demolition is a justifiable part of campus evolution.
"It's for the education of students," Friedman said.
Science and technology are an important part of current and future curricula she added.
However, for Michael Klein (junior-film and video), progress comes at a price.
"I think they should keep it because it's history. We need more of the past around," Klein said.
Students will likely have the rest of the fall and part of the spring to catch a final glimpse of the cottage, said Ruskin.
"We're probably not going to start demolition until the spring," he said. "We don't want to do it in the snow."
