Dallas Hall | |
Location | 3225 University Blvd., University Park, Texas |
---|---|
Coordinates | 32°50′42″N96°47′5″W / 32.84500°N 96.78472°W |
Area | Less than one acre |
Built | 1915 |
Architect | Shepley, Rutan & Coolidge |
Architectural style | Colonial Revival, Neo-Georgian |
MPS | Georgian Revival Buildings of Southern Methodist University TR (AD) |
NRHP reference No. | 78002913 [1] |
RTHL No. | 6670 |
Significant dates | |
Added to NRHP | November 17, 1978 |
Designated RTHL | 1979 |
Dallas Hall is a historic building on the campus of Southern Methodist University (SMU) in University Park, Texas. Influenced by the Roman Pantheon and architecture by Thomas Jefferson, it was constructed by the architectural firm of Shepley, Rutan and Coolidge in 1915. The first building on campus, it housed most of the university's operations. The campus has since been expanded around Dallas Hall, but it remains the center of SMU. It was named to the National Register of Historic Places in 1978. [2]
Dallas Hall was designed by the Chicago branch of the architectural firm Shepley, Rutan and Coolidge. [3] Robert Stewart Hyer (1860–1929), the first President of SMU, chose Georgian architecture after the Thomas Jefferson-designed architecture of the University of Virginia in Charlottesville, Virginia. [3] [4] [5] The building's architecture was inspired by the Pantheon. [6] As a sign of appreciation towards local citizens who had given 622.5 acres and $300,000 to found the campus, it was named "Dallas Hall" in their honor. [7]
Construction began in 1912, and the cornerstone was laid on November 28, 1912. [8] It was dedicated in 1915, making it the first building on campus. [5] [8] [9] The site chosen for Dallas Hall is one of the highest points in Dallas County. [6] It stood alone on a flat prairie. [8] This, and the building's monumental size, is the origin of SMU's nickname, "The Hilltop". [9] [6] Constructed of brick, it is three stories tall. [3] The building was oriented so that the crest of the building perfectly aligned with the Praetorian Building, then the tallest building in Dallas. [6]
Upon its opening, all of the university's facilities, except for female dorms and temporary housing for some male students, were housed in Dallas Hall. [6] It housed all classrooms for a decade after opening. [7] Over the years, it has been home to classrooms, offices, a chapel, a hamburger grill, a post office and a barbershop. [5] [8] A highly symmetrical campus has since been constructed around Dallas Hall. [6] It celebrated its 100th anniversary on November 12, 2012, with a dinner for university administrators and donors. [8] It has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places since November 17, 1978. [7]
Dallas Hall is used for SMU's convocations and graduations. [8]
Richardsonian Romanesque is a style of Romanesque Revival architecture named after the American architect Henry Hobson Richardson (1838–1886). The revival style incorporates 11th- and 12th-century southern French, Spanish, and Italian Romanesque characteristics. Richardson first used elements of the style in his Richardson Olmsted Complex in Buffalo, New York, designed in 1870, and Trinity Church in Boston is his most well-known example of this medieval revival style. Multiple architects followed in this style in the late 19th century; Richardsonian Romanesque later influenced modern styles of architecture as well.
Southern Methodist University (SMU) is a private research university in University Park, Texas, with a satellite campus in Taos County, New Mexico. SMU was founded on April 17, 1911, by the Methodist Episcopal Church, South—now part of the United Methodist Church—in partnership with Dallas civic leaders. However, it is nonsectarian in its teaching and enrolls students of all religious affiliations. It is classified among "R-2: Doctoral Universities – High Research Activity".
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Founder's Hall was the first building built on the campus of Rockefeller University at 66th Street and York Avenue, in Manhattan, New York City. Built between 1903 and 1906, it represents an instance of one of John D. Rockefeller's largest scale efforts at philanthropy, and housed the nation's first major biomedical research laboratory. Construction costs for Founder's Hall, which included an animal housing facility and a powerhouse, were $276,000. It was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1974. The building is now mainly used for school offices.
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George Foster Shepley was an American architect. He was the senior partner in the firm of Shepley, Rutan & Coolidge of Boston and Chicago, the successor to the firm of architect Henry Hobson Richardson.
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The Public Library of New London is a historic library located at 63 Huntington Street at the corner of State Street, New London, Connecticut. The library was given to the city by Henry Philomen Haven. It was constructed in 1889-92 and was designed by Shepley, Rutan and Coolidge in the Richardsonian Romanesque style; George Warren Cole was the project supervisor.
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