Category: Collegiate

Old Chapel, UMASS (1885)

by Dan//Amherst, Collegiate, Romanesque Revival

One of the most historic buildings on the campus of the University of Massachusetts in Amherst is the Old Chapel. This campus icon is a Richardsonian Romanesque structure, constructed of gray Pelham granite with Longmeadow brownstone trim. Designed by Stephen C. Earle, it was built in 1884-1886, when UMASS was the Massachusetts Agricultural College. It originally had a library on the first floor, a chapel above and a museum for the College’s natural history collection In 1935, the building was renovated by the WPA to house the History and English Departments. Later, it was home for the Department of Music and Performing Arts, and for the UMass Marching Band, which left the building in 1996. Since then, the interior has remained vacant, although the exterior of the Chapel was restored in 1997-1999. This included a complete re-building of the bell tower, with damaged stones being replaced by granite from the original Pelham quarry, which is still owned by Umass, and brownstone from a quarry in Utah. Continue reading “Old Chapel, UMASS (1885)”

Barrett Hall, Amherst College (1860)

by Dan//Amherst, Collegiate, Greek Revival, Italianate

Barrett Hall, on the campus of Amherst College, was built as Barrett Gymnasium in 1859-1860. Amherst College had the first department of Physical Education in the country. Constructed of Pelham granite, the gymnasium was designed by Boston architect Charles E. Parkes and was named for Dr. Benjamin Barrett of Northampton, who made the largest financial contribution towards building and fully equipping it. The building served as a gym until Pratt Gymnasium was built in 1883. In 1907, Barrett Hall was converted to become the home of the modern languages department.

Morgan Hall, Amherst College (1853)

by Dan//Amherst, Collegiate, Italianate

Morgan Hall, on South Pleasant Street in Amherst, was built in 1852-1853 and was Amherst College’s first library building. Designed by Henry Sykes, it was the campus’ first building made of stone. It was expanded in 1882-1883, at which time the building was officially named for New York Banker, Henry T. Morgan. Melvil Dewey served as Acting Librarian from 1874 to 1877, during which time he applied his decimal library classification system to the college’s collection. William Isaac Fletcher, Librarian from 1883 to 1911, was a nationally known bibliographer, educator and author of Public Libraries in America (1894). With the construction of the Converse Memorial Library in 1917, Morgan Hall was converted to classroom nd administrative use (it houses several college departments). In 1960, Astronomy Department’s Bassett Planetarium was installed, the gift of Preston Rogers Bassett. On the lower floor of Morgan Hall is a cannon from the 1862 Civil War Battle of New Bern, North Carolina. It is a memorial to President William A. Stearns‘ son Frazar Stearns, who was killed in the battle.

West Experiment Station, UMASS (1887)

by Dan//Amherst, Collegiate, Queen Anne

Across from the East Experiment Station on the campus of the University of Massachusetts in Amherst is the West Experiment Station, built a few years earlier in 1886-1887. The building was designed by architect Emory Ellsworth and resembles a Queen Anne style house. The West Experiment Station, originally located on the northern fringe of campus, was built to serve and continues as the home of the Massachusetts Agricultural College (now UMASS)’s chemical research division.

UPDATE: This building was recently moved and rebuilt as part of a major construction project.

Octagon at Amherst College (1847)

by Dan//Amherst, Collegiate, Octagon

A distinctive building on the campus of Amherst College is the Octagon. Built in 1847-1848 and designed by Henry A Sykes, its wood exterior walls were covered in stucco, originally scored and painted to resemble large blocks. College president Edward Hitchcock requested that the building have an octagon shape, a decision that was initially controversial. The Octagon originally housed the Woods Cabinet, the College’s scientific collection, and the Lawrence Observatory. The attached octagonal tower contained the observatory telescope. An 1855 addition housed a geology lecture room and a galley for the College’s Assyrian reliefs. After a new observatory was built in 1905, the Octagon housed other departments. In 1934-1935, the second floor of the Woods Cabinet was remodeled by architect James Kellum Smith as a meeting room, known as the Babbott Room.

East Experiment Station, UMASS (1890)

by Dan//Amherst, Collegiate, Romanesque Revival

The East Experiment Station was constructed in Amherst on the campus of the Massachusetts Agricultural College, now the University of Massachusetts, in 1889-1890. It was built with funds made available due to the Hatch Act of 1887, which provided federal funding for the benefit of State agricultural experiment stations. The Richardsonian Romanesque structure was designed by architect Emory Ellsworth and was a companion to his 1889 West Experiment Station. At one time the East Experiment Station, also known as the Hatch Experiment Station, had an attached shed and an ornate Victorian greenhouse, which was later removed. The building, which was built to house the Department of Vegetable Pathology, has been altered for other uses and currently is home to the offices of the University of Massachusetts Press.

Williston Hall (1858)

by Dan//Amherst, Collegiate, Greek Revival

Williston Hall was built in 1858 on the campus of Amherst College, where it stands at the north end of College Row. Named for philanthropist Samuel Williston, it was designed by George P. Shoals of Easthampton. The building once had a prominent tower, which was later removed. Williston Hall was initially an academic building and contained the College’s art collection. Remodeled with a Greek Revival roof, it held various academic departments over the years, but was later in danger of demolition. In 2003, an adaptive reuse project was completed, which transformed the restored building into a student residence.