The Wick Poetry Center will soon officially relocate into the May Prentice House along the University Esplanade near Lincoln Street.  The new center is the first building to be built along the esplanade and will be accompanied by a new park.  

“The university is treating the house and park as two separate projects,” said Michael Bruder, executive director of Facilities, Planning and Design for the university. “It came together in kind of a great coincidence.”

The new location for the Wick Poetry Center is in the restored historic May Prentice House, the 110-year old building named for Kent State’s first female faculty member. The house was originally located on the corner of Erie St. and Lincoln St. in Kent. Bruder said, at the time of purchase, it was not known that the house had any historical significance.  

Alice Cone, Wick Poetry Center advisory board member and May Prentice’s great grandniece, discovered the historic value of the building in 2012 and contacted many university officials, including Bruder, to try and save the house.

“At the time, I don’t think she envisioned it coming together,” Bruder said. “She just wanted to save the house.”

According to Bruder, the Wick Poetry Center will open in September and will have a dedication ceremony sometime during the fall semester.  

Contact Kristen Kobe at [email protected].