Kent State to Move Historic House Today

After more than a year in its temporary home the May Prentice House will be relocated today to its permanent resting place on the Esplanade.

Kent State University is again moving the historic house, the former home of Kent State's first female faculty member.

The house was moved in February 2012 so that construction on the Esplanade, the pedestrian trail linking the campus to downtown Kent, could proceed. The house had stood at 128 S. Willow St. — directly in the path of the new walkway.

The house will serve as the new home of the Wick Poetry Center and will stand across the Esplanade from the new College of Architecture and Environmental Design.

Michael Bruder, director of design and construction in the Office of the University Architect at Kent State, said in an email the house will be moved near its final spot so that a permanent foundation for the house can be built.

"Once the location of the new building for the College of Architecture and Environmental Design was selected, it was decided that the May Prentice House should sit across the esplanade from the new building and face the esplanade by Lincoln Street," Bruder said.

Last year, the house was moved about a half mile across the street. Today, it will roll onto Willow Street and head north just past the new Esplanade crossing on Willow Street and then east off of Willow Street.

The move will finish on Friday.

The 110-year-old house is just one of two that was in the way of the Esplanade and not demolished.

Tom Euclide, Kent State’s associate vice president for Facilities Planning and Operations, said previously officials decided to save the Prentice house because of its historical connection to the university.

“This structure is not only significant to Kent State’s history, but is also representative of the evolution of both our campus and city,” Euclide said.