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Moravian College • Preservation Master Plan
the removal of a later coat of white paint and
repointing of the brickwork, plus restoration of
the windows, doors, and other details (figure 3-32).
Finally, a connecting hyphen between Main Hall
and the Single Brethren’s House was removed,
permitting the restoration of the east wall of the
Single Brethren’s House (Weinlick 1977:105-106).
In its newly restored condition, Main Hall set
an important precedent for both the college and
the city, demonstrating the viability of historic
preservation and how it could evoke an earlier time
while providing facilities for modern use.
Figure 3-32. Main Hall near the end of restoration work
(Moravian College Archives).
The Kemerer Museum, at that time housed on
the first floor of the Single Brethren’s House, was
the consultant on the restoration work on Main
Hall. The museum focused on local history in the
nineteenth century. Historic Bethlehem formed
in this period as an organization dedicated to the
eighteenth century period of Bethlehem’s history.
Together, these two groups worked with the city
on revitalizing the historic core of old Bethlehem.
The College participated in the gradual restoration
of its own buildings, including Frueauff House, the
Single Brethren’s House, and West Hall, creating a
highly visible chain of carefully restored eighteenth
and nineteenth century buildings along the south
side of Church Street (Weinlick 1977:106).
Historic Bethlehem’s first Master Plan was written
in 1963 by landscape architect Thomas J. Kane.
It laid out a number of goals for restoring and
improving the downtown. The plan involved
not only building restoration, but archeological
investigation; reconstruction of vanished buildings,
landscape features, and sites; and new landscaping
in most areas. Several target areas were discussed,
including the Old Industrial Area complex, the area
formerly known as Der Platz (near the Hill-to-Hill
Bridge and the Church Street-Main Street
intersection), and the Moravian Pleasure Grounds
area south of Church Street. Although the entirety
of the plan was not completed, the plan nonetheless
reflects careful attention to reviving the historic
landscape and buildings of eighteenth century
Bethlehem (Kane 1963).
In 1966, the city passed new legislation creating
a Bethlehem Historic District and a local historic
district ordinance to protect the buildings within it.
In 1972, the Bethlehem Historic District was listed
on the National Register of Historic Places. Among
the contributing structures for both districts are
the Church Street campus buildings owned by
Moravian College (Moravian College 2007:23-24).
Restoration work on the other buildings proceeded
over time once the Main Hall work was complete,
with most occurring in the late 1970s. Smaller
historic preservation projects have occurred here
and there over the following 30 years, with more
planned for the future. The Single Brethren’s House
had its east wall restored in 1958, as mentioned. In
1967, considerable work was carried out, including
removal of the nineteenth century back porches.
In 1976, as part of the Bicentennial celebration, its
exterior stonework was restored on the remaining
sides (figure 3-33). Further window restoration was
carried out in 2007 (Schamberger 2008, personal
communication).
The significance of the Single Brethren’s House and
its eighteenth-century counterparts in American
architectural history cannot be overstated. In 1968, it
was carefully documented by the Historic American
Figure 3-33. The Single Brethren’s House, early in restoration
process (Moravian College Archives).
John Milner Associates • October 2009 • Chapter 3 • College Context • 50