Marshall University Visual Arts Center (originally known as Anderson Newcomb Co. and Stone & Thomas) is an

arts center An art centre or arts center is distinct from an art gallery or art museum. An arts centre is a functional community centre with a specific remit to encourage arts practice and to provide facilities such as theatre space, gallery space, venues fo ...

Huntington, West Virginia Huntington is a city in Cabell County, West Virginia, Cabell and Wayne County, West Virginia, Wayne counties in the U.S. state of West Virginia. The County seat, seat of Cabell County, the city is located at the confluence of the Ohio River, O ...

, US, next to Pullman Square. It was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

in 2007 under the

Downtown Huntington Historic District Downtown Huntington Historic District is a national historic district located at Huntington, Cabell County, West Virginia. The original district encompassed 59 contributing buildings; the boundary increase added 53 more contributing buildings. ...

History

Anderson Newcomb Co. (1902-1980)

In 1894, J.W. Valentine opened a

dry goods Dry goods is a historic term describing the type of product line a store carries, which differs by region. The term comes from the textile trade, and the shops appear to have spread with the mercantile trade across the British Empire (and Common ...

shop in the current day downtown Huntington. A year later, he partnered with W.H. Newcomb, later naming the store Valentine & Newcomb. After years of rapid growth, in 1902 Valentine & Newcomb opened a three-store building on 3rd Avenue. Five years later in 1907, Valentine sold his shares of the store to E.G. Anderson, which later renamed the store Anderson Newcomb Co. In 1920, after years of reconstruction, the Anderson Newcomb Co. building added three floors to the main building. Almost thirty years later, in 1956 two more stories were added to the building.

Stone & Thomas (1980-1996)

In 1980 the building was purchased by

Stone & Thomas Stone & Thomas was a United States chain of department stores. Based in Wheeling, West Virginia, the chain had stores located in West Virginia, Virginia, Kentucky, and Ohio. The company was bought out in 1998 by Elder-Beerman, an Ohio-based chain ...

, a

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

chain of

department stores A department store is a retail establishment offering a wide range of consumer goods in different areas of the store under one roof, each area ("department") specializing in a product category. In modern major cities, the department store made ...

based in

Wheeling, West Virginia Wheeling is a city in Ohio County, West Virginia, Ohio and Marshall County, West Virginia, Marshall counties in the U.S. state of West Virginia. The county seat of Ohio County, it lies along the Ohio River in the foothills of the Appalachian Mo ...

. Sixteen years after opening, Stone & Thomas closed its Huntington location, due to

Bankruptcy Bankruptcy is a legal process through which people or other entities who cannot repay debts to creditors may seek relief from some or all of their debts. In most jurisdictions, bankruptcy is imposed by a court order, often initiated by the deb ...

issues.

Marshall University Visual Arts Center (2013-Present)

After sitting abandoned, the building was purchased by

Marshall University Marshall University is a public university, public research university in Huntington, West Virginia, United States. It was founded in 1837 and is named after John Marshall, the fourth Chief Justice of the United States, chief justice of the Uni ...

in 2013, to redevelop it into a home for their visual arts program.

Features

Birke Art Gallery

In 1977, the Marshall University Art Gallery, which was the first art gallery created by Marshall University. Two years later in 1979, it was renamed the Birke Art Gallery after Helen and William D. Birke, owners of the Huntington Publishing Company. In 2022, the Birke Art Gallery moved from Smith Hall to the first floor of the Visual Arts Center. Today the gallery is host to a series of rotating exhibitions throughout the year including an annual juried student exhibition.

Charles W. and Norma C. Carroll Gallery

The Charles W. and Norma C. Carroll Gallery is a 2,200-square-foot gallery on the first floor of the Visual Arts Center. The gallery was renamed in 2015 after Charles and Norma Carrol, two graduates from Marshall University and owners of Carroll Insurance. The inaugural 2014 exhibition, ''We ART Marshall'', featured artwork by students, faculty, and alumni of Marshall University.

Pneumatic Gallery

The Pneumatic Gallery is a student art gallery that opened in late 2021. The gallery, renamed in 2024 from the Student Gallery, is strictly a student gallery to practice all aspects of putting on an exhibition.

References

{{Huntington, West Virginia Marshall University Buildings and structures in Huntington, West Virginia Arts centers in West Virginia Buildings and structures completed in 1902 2013 establishments in West Virginia Agricultural buildings and structures in West Virginia Art museums and galleries established in 2013 Art museums and galleries in West Virginia Glass museums and galleries in the United States Folk art museums and galleries in West Virginia Museums in Cabell County, West Virginia Museums in Huntington, West Virginia Historic district contributing properties in West Virginia