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

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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
Moravian College • Preservation Master Plan flared eaves, and is present only on the north and south. The upper roof level is shallow-pitched and hipped. The roof has a flat EPDM section at the top containing a platform with balustrade. Figure 8-5. Single Brethren’s House, east entrance threshold (JMA 2008). The roof drains to half-round gutters and multiple downspouts. The north gutters drain to downspouts leading to underground drains on Church Street. Some overflow has occurred at the northwest corner. The southeast gutter drains to a rock-lined swale along the paved road at the rear. On the southwest, water is carried from the Single Brethren’s House over the Hearst Hall entrance to a downspout there. Some leaks are occurring here. Masonry The Single Brethren’s House is constructed of mortared random ashlar local limestone. Mortar joints are wide and flush with the stone surface, and exhibit pale brown to white repointing mortar. Window and door lintels are made of rubbed red brick. The window openings were resized during restoration. Some biogrowth is apparent at the base of the east wall facing Main Hall and along the north façade above the sidewalk. Wood Figure 8-6. Single Brethren’s House, east wall showing biogrowth (JMA 2008). The exterior wood cornices and other trim are in good condition, with restoration work having occurred in 2007. Many of the windowsills were replaced. Modern reproduction wood steps provide access from the entrances to the ground on both the north and south sides. Those below the north entrance doors are in good condition. The larger set of wood steps on the south side is set on a concrete foundation and was dedicated in 1989. There is some ponding of water on these steps. Wood clapboard siding on the top west end of the building needs paint. Other Features Figure 8-7. Single Brethren’s House, clapboard wall on west end of lower attic (JMA 2008). Roofi ng and Drainage The Single Brethren’s House has a mansard roof clad mostly in wood shingles with copper flashing. The lower roof of the mansard is steep-pitched with A bronze memorial plaque on the east wall near the south corner commemorates the Revolutionary War soldiers who died while the Single Brethren’s House was used as a hospital during the winters of 1776-77 and 1777-78. This plaque was mounted at the center of the north façade prior to the building’s full restoration in 1976. On the north wall, above the central doors, is a marble tablet in a brick surround, inscribed with a Moravian verse in German. Above the south doors is a historic stone sundial set in a brick surround. John Milner Associates • October 2009 • Chapter 8 • Historic Buildings • 177
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