OLD COLLEGE, entered from Main St. through an avenue of old linden trees, dominates Campus and University by position and tradition. Erected in 1834 with money raised from a lottery, it was for a half century the only college building, and was used for a time for academic as well as collegiate instruction.
Originally a plain, cruciform brick structure of three stories, it had two wings added in 1902. In 1917 the interior was completely renovated and the steeple or bell tower (not originally part of the building) removed, but the exterior walls and portico were preserved, with just enough modification to accentuate the dignified simplicity of its design. A two-story granite stairway leads to the central portico, which is guarded by finely-proportioned,fluted Doric columns, painted white.
Old College is now used principally as a social center for students and faculty. -Delaware: A Guide to the First State, 1938, pg. 226.
Old College was extensively renovated in the 1970s. Since its renovation it has housed the Departments of Museum Studies, Art History, Art Conservation, and the Winterthur Program in Early American Culture, as well as the University Gallery.