College Hall (University of Pennsylvania)

College Hall
College Hall at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia in May 2015
General information
Type	Academic, research
Location	University City
Address	3450 Woodland Walk Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Opened	1872 (1872) [1]
Owner	University of Pennsylvania
Height
Architectural	Victorian gothic
Technical details
Material	Stone
Size	110,266 square feet (10,244.0 m2)
Floor count	6
Lifts/elevators	1
Grounds	0.5 acres (0.20 ha)
Design and construction
Architect(s)	Thomas W. Richards
College Hall, University of Pennsylvania
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
U.S. Historic district Contributing property
College Hall in 1892
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Location	Bounded by Walnut, Spruce, 34th, and 36th Sts., Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Coordinates	39°57′4.6″N75°11′37.5″W / 39.951278°N 75.193750°W / 39.951278; -75.193750
Area	0.5 acres (0.20 ha)
Built	1872
Architect	Thomas W. Richards
Architectural style	Victorian Gothic
NRHP reference No.	78002444 [2]
Added to NRHP	February 14, 1978

College Hall is the oldest building on the West Philadelphia campus of the University of Pennsylvania. Prior to its construction, the university was located on Ninth Street in Center City, Philadelphia. The building was designed by Thomas Webb Richards and completed in 1873. The characteristic green color of the building is due to its composition of green serpentine stone.

College Hall was placed on the National Register of Historic Places February 14, 1978. ^[3] It is also a contributing property of the University of Pennsylvania Campus Historic District.

The building currently houses the undergraduate admissions office, the university president's offices, the Department of History, and classrooms. ^[4] The top floor of College Hall was purpose built for the Zelosophic and Philomathean Societies, and is presently home to the Philomathean Society, a literary society founded in 1813.

Although College Hall and the now-demolished Blanchard Hall were rumored to be the model for the Victorian Gothic mansion in The Addams Family cartoons, the cartoonist Charles Addams repeatedly denied the claims. ^[5]

Renovation of College Hall's west wing commenced in 2023 ^[6] , and was complete as of early 2025. ^[7]

Gallery

• 
  College Hall and the University of Pennsylvania library from Locust Street, c. 1901
• 
  College Hall from the southeast, before 1910
• 
  John J. Boyle's 1899 statue of Benjamin Franklin in front of College Hall

See also

• Philadelphiaportal

References

1. "David Rittenhouse Laboratory". Trustees of the University of Pennsylvania . Retrieved February 13, 2018.
2. "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places . National Park Service. January 23, 2007.
3. Application for Historical Registry
4. Virtual Tour of Penn's Campus: College Hall
5. Thomas, George; Brownlee, David Bruce (2000). Building America's First University: An Historical and Architectural Guide to the University of Pennsylvania. University of Pennsylvania Press. p. 142. ISBN   978-0812235159.
6. https://www.thedp.com/article/2023/09/college-hall-construction-renovation-photo-essay
7. https://www.kmarchitects.com/projects/college-hall-west-wing

External links

• Media related to College Hall (University of Pennsylvania) at Wikimedia Commons
• Historic American Buildings Survey (HABS) No. PA-1643, " University of Pennsylvania, College Hall, Woodland Avenue, Philadelphia, Philadelphia County, PA ", 2 photos, 1 data page, 1 photo caption page