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. It is also a
contributing property
In the law regulating historic districts in the United States, a contributing property or contributing resource is any building, object, or structure which adds to the historical integrity or architectural qualities that make the historic distri ...
of the
University of Pennsylvania Campus Historic District
The University of Pennsylvania Campus Historic District is a historic district on the campus of the University of Pennsylvania, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA. The university relocated from Center City to West Philadelphia in the 1870s, and ...
.
The building currently houses the undergraduate admissions office, the university president's offices, the Department of History, and classrooms. The top floor of College Hall is also 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
Charles Samuel Addams (January 7, 1912 – September 29, 1988) was an American cartoonist known for his darkly humorous and macabre characters, signing the cartoons as Chas Addams. Some of his recurring characters became known as the Addams Fa ...
repeatedly denied the claims.
Gallery
File:College Hall and U of PA Library from the west.jpg, College Hall and U. of PA Library, from Locust St., ca. 1901.
File:College Hall, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA.jpg, College Hall, from the southeast, before 1910.
Image:Benjamin Franklin statue in front of College Hall.JPG, Statue of Benjamin Franklin in front of College Hall.
References
{{National Register of Historic Places in Pennsylvania
National Register of Historic Places in Philadelphia
University of Pennsylvania campus
School buildings completed in 1873
University and college buildings on the National Register of Historic Places in Pennsylvania
Individually listed contributing properties to historic districts on the National Register in Pennsylvania
1873 establishments in Pennsylvania