The center of campus is the Ox-Bow Inn, built in 1873, formerly known as the Riverside Hotel and, before that, the Charles Shriver home.

The Riverside Hotel supported the industrial and commercial trends that dominated the area. Its proprietors, the Shriver family, originally built a small house in the 1860s on what was then an oxbow-shaped bend in the Kalamazoo River. After realizing the potential for trade traffic, they added on to their simple home in the 1890s, converting it into a 20-room hotel, which today is known as the “Old Inn.”

In 1912 and 1913, classes were held at the Park House downriver, and at the Riverside Hotel. In 1914, the Ox-Bow school moved its entire operation to the hotel.

In 2005, the decision was made to remove the back of the Old Inn and the kitchen to make room for a new addition, referred to as the “New Inn.” The New Inn includes a new commercial kitchen, dining hall, offices, a classroom, and 13 dorm-style rooms, including ADA rooms on the first floor.

The Ox-Bow offices are located on campus in the Old and New Inns and in downtown Chicago. Our office staff are responsible for behind-the-scenes administration, from coordinating our annual Summer Benefit, fundraising, grant writing, managing the Ox-Bow Archives, and communicating with donors to processing student registrations and handling all of Ox-Bow’s marketing and design efforts.

Kathleen Markland has been a longtime volunteer in Ox-Bow’s campus office. She was also the 2019 Summer Benefit Honoree. Click below to listen to a StoryCorps interview with Kathleen about her relationship to Ox-Bow.