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

Moravian College • Preservation Master Plan
and was the first permanent building erected on
the south side of Sisters’ Lane (now Church Street).
It was modeled after a building at Herrnhut, the
Moravian Church’s European headquarters in
Saxony. As such, it is a rare direct importation
of Germanic architecture to the New World,
avoiding the Americanization that characterized
most buildings erected by European settlers. It is
recognized as one of the best examples of German
Colonial architecture in the United States.
Integrity
The Single Brethren’s House exterior was
extensively restored in stages between 1958 and
1976. As such, its exterior features aside from the
stonework are reproductions rather than historic
materials in many cases. The 1859 addition of West
Hall resulted in removal of the original southwest
corner of the exterior walls, but the original walls
and stone are otherwise present. On the interior,
renovations of the primary floors in the nineteenth
and twentieth centuries have altered original room
layouts and finishes, but early-nineteenth-century
corridors, staircases, floors, woodwork, and other
details remain intact. The basement and two attic
levels are more intact, retaining a number of early
features such as timber-framed hallway partitions
and remains of the kitchens and storage cellars
in the basement. The 1968 HABS investigation
documented many of the changes to the building,
dated many of the building elements, and outlined
the probable original floor plans.
Condition
Summary
The Single Brethren’s House is an oblong five-story
building of stone construction. The exterior is
entirely stone except for a ca. 1859 clapboard end
wall section on the southwest corner at the level of the
lower attic. The primary façade faces north toward
Main Street and Church Street, and the rear façade
faces south over the campus landscape toward the
river. The building sits on a site that slopes down to
the west, and connects to West Hall and Old Chapel
on the west/southwest. The basement level is below
grade at the east end, and partially exposed in front
and back along the slope, with three full floors
above. The double-level mansard roof contains
two attic floors with dormers and has an oblong
platform and balustrade along its top. Its exterior
is restored to an eighteenth-century appearance,
with the stonework fully exposed and wood trim
painted red and white. The building is ten bays long
at both the front and rear, and five bays deep, with
symmetrical alignment of fenestration. Windows
in the building are six-over-six double-hung wood
windows and have segmental-arched brick lintels.
On both the front and rear elevations, the first floor
has two pairs of entrance doors set side-by-side near
the center. Set into the stonework above the north
doors is an inscribed marble tablet, and above the
south doors is a historic stone sundial. The building
overall is in very good physical condition with few
maintenance issues.
Additions
The Single Brethren’s House was a standalone
building until 1848, when Old Chapel was built off
the southwest corner. In 1854, Main Hall was built
to the east and a connecting frame hyphen was
added to connect it to the Single Brethren’s House.
Multilevel rear porches were added at an unknown
date during the nineteenth century. Finally, West
Hall was added abutting the west end of the Single
Brethren’s House in 1859.
The Main Hall hyphen was removed in 1958,
re-exposing the original east end of the Single
Brethren’s House, and the rear porches were
removed in 1967.
Doors and Fenestration
The paired doors on the front and rear façades are
painted wood herringbone-style doors and are
surmounted by six-light oblong transoms. These
are reconstructed elements dating from the 1960s.
The south doors are not used and are fixed in place.
All are in good condition. On the east side of the
building is a single central door entrance with a
shed-roofed hood concealing a glass transom. The
wood-shingled hood has biological growth from
dampness, and the threshold of the door has some
rot due to water runoff in the alley.
Most of the windows in the building are reproduction
six-over-six double-hung sash windows, set flush
with the exterior wall surface and reinforced with
interior storm sash. Historic windows remain on
the two attic levels. Both attics have dormers on
the north and south exposures. The upper attic
has shed dormers with three-over-six windows,
which are believed to be original. The lower attic
has gabled dormers with six-over-six windows,
probably dating from the nineteenth century.
John Milner Associates • October 2009 • Chapter 8 • Historic Buildings • 176