Moravian Preservation Master Plan.indb - Society for College and ...

Moravian College • Preservation Master Plan
places and is marred with misplaced drill holes (see
figure 5-86).
Contributing features:
• None identified
Site Furnishings and Objects
Site furnishings and objects within the Colonial Hall
character area include wood and metal benches,
building identification signs, traffic signs along the
street, light standards with Colonial-style lanterns,
and utility units (see figures 5-109, 5-115, and 5-116).
A small boulder supports a bronze plaque in the
entrance plaza that reads: “Let this view soothe
your brow as you look across for your enjoyment
now. Dedicated to Beverly Sobol Schachter who
once enjoyed this same view”.
Contributing features:
• None identified
Archeological Features
No archeological resources are presently known
or recorded within the Colonial Hall character
area. The potential in this character area for both
prehistoric (Native American) and historic period
archeological remains (features and artifacts) is
likely to be low.
Signifi cance and Integrity Evaluation
Colonial Hall is a unique 1920s interpretation of
the early Germanic architecture of Bethlehem.
The exterior of Colonial Hall is largely intact and
possesses a high level of integrity.
The landscape space shows integrity to early
planning for this building and lacks only the third
wing to make it complete. The axial connection to
Comenius Hall is still in place, however weakened
slightly by the new diagonal orientation of the
entrance plaza. The symmetry of the space could be
resolved if this configuration is mirrored when the
third wing is added. Plantings today do not reflect
historic conditions, but as a rehabilitated space, it is
safer and more user-friendly without the restricting
presence of the double row of shrubs.
Sports Quad Character Area
The Sports Quad character area includes the
sports field at the center of the North Main Street
Campus, the surrounding buildings, and accessory
drives and parking areas (figure 5-119). Its general
character is that of a wide open space ringed
by low, long buildings constructed primarily of
native “south mountain stone,” as described in
the architect’s plans, and shaded by large trees
(Weinlick 1977:107).
Overall, the design of this character area reflects
changing trends in campus design during the
twentieth century. It shows a move away from
the reliance on Beaux Arts symmetry, verticality,
hierarchy of spaces, and use of strong axial
orientation in placement of buildings and landscape
features seen in the earlier arrangement of buildings
on the North Main Street Campus toward a more
free-form and Modernistic expression of form and
function. The placement of the Rau-Hassler and
Bernhardt-Wilhelm Residence Halls in an informal
arrangement is expressive of the nature of the
site—particularly characteristic of a Modernistic
approach. Jo Smith Hall, Johnston Hall, and
the Haupert Student Union, with their low and
broad façades and horizontal banks of windows
are characteristic of the Prairie Style developed
by Frank Lloyd Wright. Even Rau-Hassler and
Bernhardt-Wilhelm, although actually four floors
each in total, are set into the slope so that their
verticality is downplayed.
While, with the exception of Johnston Hall, the
buildings and landscape features within this area
are not quite 50 years old, their expression of
Modernistic design principles may support findings
of historical significance in another 10-20 years.
Natural Systems and Features
The most notable natural feature within the
Sports Quad character area is the slope that leads
to Monocacy Creek, within which the sports
field is sculpted and into which Rau-Hassler and
Bernhardt-Wilhelm were nestled to lower their
vertical impact on the space.
Contributing features:
• Natural slope to Monocacy Creek
John Milner Associates • October 2009 • Chapter 5 • Cultural Landscapes • 121