Buildings with a documented opening year (137 of 300 footprints) appear in their year and leave when demolished; buildings without a documented year (163 of the 300) appear only at the present-day end of the slider — their arrival year is not recorded. Frame statistics stay present-day.
Records & History▾
Primary archival filings, 35-structure NRHP district roster, residence chapels, and Form 990 capital ledgers.
Live Systems▾
USGS 04101000 (Elkhart): 1,840 cfs · Stage 18.21 ft
USGS 04101225 (South Bend): 2,110 cfs · Stage 4.88 ft
Primary readings, archival rosters, and indicators behind the 46556 frame
Two square kilometres of balance sheet.
Public tax filings document billions of dollars in physical plant anchored inside this single frame. Net book value standing in physical property and equipment (Form 990 Part X line 10c): $2,822,785,854 (FY2025).
A census city of 7,200. Living 94 percent in group quarters.
In federal statistics, the campus is designated as Census Designated Place (CDP) 46556. Because over nine out of ten residents live in collegiate residence halls, standard demographic metrics tell a unique institutional story.
The Three-Geographies Rule
The CDP / ZIP 46556: The geographic census tract covering the physical campus ground (land area 2.00 km²).
The Institution: The student enrollment body and university employee payroll, encompassing non-resident commuters and regional faculty.
St. Joseph County: The surrounding county of 272,912 residents (2020 Decennial Census), providing regional economic baseline.
CDP Population (2020)
7,234
Decennial count (+21.1% vs 2010)
Group Quarters Share
94.1%
6,486 of 6,890 in residence halls
Median Age
20.3
Years (vs 36.7 county median)
International Share
10.3%
712 foreign-born residents
[Pinpoint: SSOT §14; U.S. Census Bureau ACS 2024 5-year & 2020 Decennial Census]
The Historic District Inventory (NRIS 78000053)
Ghosts is the campus of 1978 — the buildings the National Register counted as the historic district, before everything around them was built.
The official 1978 National Register nomination document (Item 7) inventories exactly 35 structures inside the historic core: 21 historic contributing + 9 supporting + 3 placement-only + 2 no discernible significance.
Nomination Name
Modern Name
Date
Architect
Status Tier
The Great Fire of April 23, 1879
Timothy Howard’s 1907 History of St. Joseph County records the fire destroying the 1865 Main Building, dome, infirmary, and adjacent brick structures within 3 hours. Architect Willoughby J. Edbrooke designed the current 1879 Main Building on an expanded foundation before autumn term.
[Pinpoint: NRIS 78000053 extraction; Howard (1907) pp. 609–612; GLO 1829–31 survey & Ulerick 1831 patent]
Residence Hall Chapels & Housing Density
Complete directory of 35 dedicated residence hall chapels alongside verified room, bed, and gross space metrics.
Residence Hall
Dedicated Chapel
Beds
Floors
Gross Area (GSF)
Sq Ft / Bed
[Pinpoint: ND Residential Life & Facilities 2015 Building Inventory; dorm-stats-level3-2026-11-05.csv]
Complete 22-Layer Indicator Catalog
Every dataset rendered in the 46556 Atlas carries its issuing authority, vintage, confidence rating, and primary source citation. A layer without a source does not ship.
Open Database License (ODbL 1.0) & MapLibre BSD Notice
46556 is designing wall-hung relief maps of the campus, measured from public LiDAR elevation data and made to order in small batches by our manufacturing partner.
THE FLAGSHIP
The Full Board
$2,000
1.33 m wall board at 1:1500 scale. Layered Baltic birch with walnut shadow frame. $200 refundable reservation.
LAYERED WOOD
46556 STRATA
$249
610 × 610 mm, eight laser-cut birch layers with four height bands. $25 refundable reservation.
BUILD OVER TIME
Districts — Starter
$119
Six framed relief tiles, one district at a time. Starter tile includes hanging hardware. $25 refundable reservation.
ONE PIECE
46556·500
$349
500 mm square, every building proportioned from public LiDAR. Arrives framed. $25 refundable reservation.