Batten Arts and Letters Building (BAL)

The Batten Arts and Letters Building, or BAL for short, is the tallest building at Old Dominion University (ODU) and houses the College of Arts and Letters departments and offices as well as classroom space and computer labs.  It is located off Hampton Boulevard between 44th and 45th Streets.

History

Construction on BAL started in 1971 and was completed in June 1972. Originally named simply the Arts and Letters Building, the nine-story building was renamed the Batten Arts and Letters building in 1976 in honor of Frank Batten, former publisher of the Virginian-Pilot newspaper and the first Rector of the Board of Visitors. To help update the 45-year-old building, a renovation project was completed from 2007 to 2008.

Resources

1. Old Dominion University Photographic and Multimedia Collection, Special Collections and University Archives, Perry Library, Old Dominion University, Norfolk, Virginia, 23529.
2. ODU Photographic Collection, Old Dominion University Libraries Digital Collections, Old Dominion University Libraries.
3. Building the University, Old Dominion University Libraries Digital Exhibit, 2005.

References

1. Bookman, Steven and Jessica Ritchie. Old Dominion University: A Campus History Series.  Arcadia Publishing. Charleston, South Carolina, 2017.