Academy Hall (Pennsylvania Western University, Edinboro)
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Academy Hall is an academic building on the campus of
Pennsylvania Western University, Edinboro Pennsylvania Western University, Edinboro (abbreviated as PennWest Edinboro) is a campus of Pennsylvania Western University in Edinboro, Pennsylvania. The campus had an enrollment of 2,259 as of fall 2024. History PennWest Edinboro was found ...
(PennWest Edinboro) in Edinboro,
Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...
. Originally named Austin Hall after its architect, the hall has since seen a variety of names that reflected its use at the time, including Literary Hall, Commercial Hall, and Music Hall. Built in 1857, Academy Hall is the oldest building at the university and the oldest normal school building in Pennsylvania. It was listed on the
National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...
in 2006.


Design

Academy Hall is a two-story,
Italianate The Italianate style was a distinct 19th-century phase in the history of Classical architecture. Like Palladianism and Neoclassicism, the Italianate style combined its inspiration from the models and architectural vocabulary of 16th-century It ...
-style structure located at the intersection of High and Normal Streets at PennWest Edinboro. The hall is , with wings containing
stairwell A stairwell or stair room is a room in a building where a stair is located, and is used to connect walkways between floors so that one can move in height. Collectively, a set of stairs and a stairwell is referred to as a staircase or stairway. ...
s on the north and south sides. A
cupola In architecture, a cupola () is a relatively small, usually dome-like structure on top of a building often crowning a larger roof or dome. Cupolas often serve as a roof lantern to admit light and air or as a lookout. The word derives, via Ital ...
with a low, pyramidal roof and arched windows is perched atop the building. Beneath the
bracket A bracket is either of two tall fore- or back-facing punctuation marks commonly used to isolate a segment of text or data from its surroundings. They come in four main pairs of shapes, as given in the box to the right, which also gives their n ...
s and
dentil A dentil (from Lat. ''dens'', a tooth) is a small block used as a repeating ornament in the bedmould of a cornice. Dentils are found in ancient Greek and Roman architecture, and also in later styles such as Neoclassical, Federal, Georgian Rev ...
on the cupola is " Greek key fretwork". The exterior of Academy Hall has remained unaltered since its construction, save for the addition of a new basement and foundation when it was moved in 1880, and the removal of its chimneys in 1885. During renovations in 2006 and 2007, parts of the first floor ceiling were removed to make way for the installation of a
mezzanine A mezzanine (; or in Italian, a ''mezzanino'') is an intermediate floor in a building which is partly open to the double-height ceilinged floor below, or which does not extend over the whole floorspace of the building, a loft with non-sloped ...
. The cupola also functions as a
skylight A skylight (sometimes called a rooflight) is a light-permitting structure or window, usually made of transparent or translucent glass, that forms all or part of the roof space of a building for daylighting and ventilation purposes. History O ...
.


History

In 1855, the citizens of Edinboro elected to establish an
academy An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of tertiary education. The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy, founded approximately 386 BC at Akademia, a sanctuary of Athena, the go ...
in the community, as the nearest
secondary school A secondary school, high school, or senior school, is an institution that provides secondary education. Some secondary schools provide both ''lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper secondary education'' (ages 14 to 18), i.e., b ...
at the time was in
Waterford Waterford ( ) is a City status in Ireland, city in County Waterford in the South-East Region, Ireland, south-east of Ireland. It is located within the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster. The city is situated at the head of Waterford H ...
, away. The community applied for a
charter A charter is the grant of authority or rights, stating that the granter formally recognizes the prerogative of the recipient to exercise the rights specified. It is implicit that the granter retains superiority (or sovereignty), and that the ...
in 1856, and succeeded in raising $3,000 for the purchasing of and the construction of an academy building. The contract for the building was awarded to Nathaniel C. Austin, a local architect and carpenter. Austin Hall was completed in 1857 and was dedicated on December 14, 1857, the day before classes began. The school opened as Edinboro Academy. During its construction, the
Pennsylvania General Assembly The Pennsylvania General Assembly is the legislature of the U.S. commonwealth of Pennsylvania. The legislature convenes in the State Capitol building in Harrisburg. In colonial times (1682–1776), the legislature was known as the Pennsylvani ...
passed the Normal School Act of 1857. The
trustee Trustee (or the holding of a trusteeship) is a legal term which, in its broadest sense, refers to anyone in a position of trust and so can refer to any individual who holds property, authority, or a position of trust or responsibility for the ...
s of Edinboro Academy decided to pursue certification as a normal school under the act. An additional were purchased and three more buildings erected: an
assembly hall An assembly hall is a hall to hold public meetings or meetings of an organization such as a school, church, or deliberative assembly. An example of the last case is the Assembly Hall (Washington, Mississippi) where the general assembly of the s ...
and two
dormitories A dormitory (originated from the Latin word ''dormitorium'', often abbreviated to dorm), also known as a hall of residence, a residence hall (often abbreviated to halls), or a hostel, is a building primarily providing sleeping and residential qu ...
. The school officially became Northwest State Normal School on January 23, 1861. It was the second such school in
Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...
, the first being in Millersville. Academy Hall was moved approximately northeast to its present location in 1880. It was renamed Literary Hall the same year when its second floor became used primarily by the school's
literary societies A literary society is a group of people interested in literature. In the modern sense, this refers to a society that wants to promote one genre of writing or a specific author. Modern literary societies typically promote research, publish newslet ...
. From 1912 to 1917, the hall was used by business courses and classes for " secretarial skills" and was called Commercial Hall. In 1917, the building was used by music students and was referred to as Music Hall. The college's
alumni Alumni (: alumnus () or alumna ()) are former students or graduates of a school, college, or university. The feminine plural alumnae is sometimes used for groups of women, and alums (: alum) or alumns (: alumn) as gender-neutral alternatives. Th ...
office took residence of Music Hall in 1965, and renamed it Academy Hall. Academy Hall was left vacant in 1996. It underwent a $2.4 million restoration that was completed when it was rededicated on January 18, 2007 as part of the 150th anniversary celebration of the founding of the school. The hall now houses the university's admissions office.


See also

*
List of the oldest buildings in Pennsylvania This article lists the oldest buildings in the state of Pennsylvania in the United States, including the oldest houses in the state and certain other extant structures. Some dates are approximate, based upon dendrochronology, architectural stud ...
* National Register of Historic Places listings at colleges and universities in the United States *
National Register of Historic Places listings in Erie County, Pennsylvania __NOTOC__ This is a list of the National Register of Historic Places listings in Erie County, Pennsylvania. This is intended to be a complete list of the properties and districts on the National Register of Historic Places in Erie County, Pen ...


References


Sources

* * {{National Register of Historic Places in Pennsylvania University and college buildings completed in 1857 Buildings and structures in Erie County, Pennsylvania Pennsylvania Western University, Edinboro Italianate architecture in Pennsylvania Relocated buildings and structures in Pennsylvania University and college academic buildings in the United States University and college buildings on the National Register of Historic Places in Pennsylvania National Register of Historic Places in Erie County, Pennsylvania 1857 establishments in Pennsylvania