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Moravian College • Preservation Master Plan
historical, owing to its age and status as the first
building on an otherwise empty tract that became
today’s campus.
Integrity
Figure 8-217. Hamilton Hall, ca. 1900 historic view to southeast
(Moravian Church Archives).
The exterior of Hamilton Hall has a moderate
level of integrity. While the brickwork survives,
there are only a few remainders of the original
Greek Revival character of the house, notably the
front door surround with sidelights. The original
entrance was modified with a Colonial Revival
hood, an attic dormer and rear addition were
made, and the interior was modernized to create a
home for the Resident Professor in the early 1890s.
Further interior renovations were made during the
twentieth century. Inside the house, an original
staircase and a few other elements survive, but the
overall space is modernized.
Condition
Summary
Figure 8-218. Hamilton Hall, view to southeast (JMA 2008).
housed the Resident Professor of the school. J.
Taylor Hamilton was the first occupant. He became
Resident Professor in 1886, prior to the school’s
move to North Main Street, and continued in that
position until 1903. In 1918, he became president of
the school.
In 1943, the house was renamed Hamilton Hall
and was used as housing for several Theological
Seminary students. In 1954, the first floor was
converted to classrooms. Today, Hamilton Hall is
the home of Moravian’s philosophy and sociology
departments.
Hamilton Hall is a two-and-one-half-story,
side-gabled brick house with a full-height rear
perpendicular ell, and a flat-roofed addition at the
back of the ell. Its overall style is a modest vernacular
late Federal-early Greek Revival with 1890s Queen
Anne additions. It has a slate roof and internal brick
chimneys on each gable end. Windows on the west
and north sides of the building have been replaced
with six-over-six modern vinyl sash, with the
exception of the attic windows. Original windows
and doors are extant on the south and east sides.
The main block has a side-passage plan with its
main entrance to the south side of the primary west
façade. It has a squarish footprint and is three bays
Signifi cance
Hamilton Hall is the oldest building on the North
Main Street Campus, predating the other College
buildings by 70 years. Though built as a simple
Greek Revival farmhouse, the loss of its rural
setting, the 1890s renovations to make it into a
professor’s home, and more recent renovations
during the 20th century, have eliminated much of
its physical integrity. Its significance is primarily
Figure 8-219. Hamilton Hall, view to northeast (JMA 2008).
John Milner Associates • October 2009 • Chapter 8 • Historic Buildings • 242