The “front porch” is the three-story canopy that extends from the main entrance. “Trinity brick,” that special blend used throughout campus, is the primary masonry cover. However, new Northrup Hall introduces native limestone to campus and is used to trim the base of the building and on the new campus entrance sign. The building also capitalizes on Trinity’s hilltop vantage point, as glass-faced corridors of the upper floors offer a panoramic view of the downtown San Antonio skyline.

Earlier this spring, occupants of the new building began moving in, and once again Northrup Hall, houses several of the University’s administrative offices, including the Office of the President and the academic departments of English and Modern Languages and Literatures. New to Northrup are the addition of 13 classrooms and seminar rooms and a 99-seat lecture hall. Two major public works of art have also been installed in the first floor lobby. “The Learning Tree,” designed by Rolando Briseño, is a 25-foot bronze tree complete with roots, trunk, branches, and swirling clouds. The grill-like sculpture is set in front of a cascading water fountain and scales into the second floor of the lobby. Trinity alumnus Don Williams ’88 lead a team of metal artists, which included Robert Diaz de Leon ’83, in fabricating Briseño’s Umberto Ecco-inspired design. Trinity art professor Kate Ritson’s “World Writing Systems” has been installed along a section of wall just below the second floor lobby. Each 50-pound limestone table features symbols and letters from “all the known alphabets of the world from ancient to present time.”

The Trinity community will formally dedicate new Northrup Hall during a special ceremony to be held September 16th.