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

Moravian College • Preservation Master Plan
from the foundation in the alley between
Main Hall and the Single Brethren’s House,
where ponding water is causing rot in the
entrance threshold and moss growth on
the lower walls.
• An improved drainage system is needed
along the Church Street side of the building
to prevent rising damp. The College and
City should cooperate to resolve this issue,
which also affects Main and West Halls.
• The ca. 1850s wood siding on the west end
of the lower attic is deteriorating and needs
repainting.
It is recommended that the basement and two attic
levels of the Single Brethren’s House be given a
Preservation treatment. These are areas where little
renovation has occurred and significant amounts
of historic fabric can be found, including some
elements dating back to the 1700s. The lower attic
contains the few remaining open-dormitory spaces
in the building.
The lower attic contains a large amount of stored
antique furnishings and other objects, and additional
items are in the basement. It is recommended that
these items be inventoried and catalogued, and
conserved if needed.
West Hall – 1859
Historical Development
West Hall was constructed in 1859 to accommodate
the expanding population of the Bethlehem Female
Seminary. A large house and lawn on this site were
destroyed to make way for the new building. Along
with dormitory space and classrooms, it contained
an infirmary suite for ill students. As with Main Hall,
it originally had plumbed bathrooms on each floor,
central heat, and gas lighting. The furnace in the
basement supplied heat to multiple buildings. The
basement level originally contained a “swimming
bath.”
By 1947, West Hall had a furnace room, maintenance
shop, a paint room, and storage in the basement.
The first floor was used as classrooms. The second
floor had classrooms, an infirmary, and a “diet
kitchen” for the infirmary patients. The third floor
had classrooms and additional infirmary rooms.
The attic was for storage of “discarded furniture”
(Hampson 1947:8), but the proliferation of student
signatures on the walls indicates that this space was
accessible to students and served as an unofficial
place to commemorate their time at the school.
West Hall became a home for the Music Department
after the 1954 merger. The interior was renovated
with soundproofed rooms similar to those in the
Single Brethren’s House. In 1976, the exterior of
West Hall was restored to its current appearance by
Spillman Farmer Architects.
Signifi cance
West Hall is an example of an austere mid-nineteenthcentury
institutional building, with modest Greek
Revival and Italianate details and relatively little in
the way of ornament.
Integrity
West Hall has a high level of integrity on the
exterior, which closely resembles its appearance
in historic photographs aside from removal of the
paint and possible stucco that once covered its
brickwork. Windows and wood elements remain
Figure 8-21. West Hall, north façade, looking south (JMA 2008).
Figure 8-22. West Hall, north and west façades, looking southeast
(JMA 2008).
John Milner Associates • October 2009 • Chapter 8 • Historic Buildings • 181