FOCUS: The Crown Jewels

The University has spent an enormous amount of time and money trying to restore the two oldest buildings on campus. It hasn't been easy. In 1867, University Provost Charles Stille's ultimate vision came true. That year, Stille secured the money and property to relocate his University to the side of a hill overlooking the sparkling Schuylkill River. Stille felt the University, then located near 9th and Chestnut streets, needed to move to the countryside. And it needed to move far enough west to make sure the developing city never enveloped its campus. So in 1870, construction began on the University's first building – College Hall. Logan Hall, the second University facility, was built soon after, in 1873. A lot has changed since then. The "suburbs" of West Philadelphia were long ago swallowed up by a growing city and a sprawling, modern campus has sprouted up where only fields stood 120 years ago. Through it all, those two buildings have remained the University's crown jewels. But today Logan Hall is home to more construction workers than students, and College Hall hears more drilling than administrative hubbub. When seemingly never-ending repairs and rehabilitations are completed, the University will have spent between $27 and $32 million to restore the buildings to their former glory, Budget Director Stephen Golding said. But problems with the buildings' early construction – as well as problems with repairs over the past century – have made the challenge of restoration more than the University initially expected, officials said. "When you start these things, it's really a leap in the dark," said John Gould, vice president for planning. "God knows what you're going to find." And find they did. The facades of College and Logan halls are primarily made of serpentine, a greenish stone used in many 19th century buildings. But this stone is extremely vulnerable to airborne pollution, and much of the serpentine on the two buildings' facades has either oxidized and turned yellow, or has eroded away. The renovations project to repair the facades – and various structural problems with the buildings – has been marked by setback after setback. Like the structural problem in School of Arts and Sciences Dean Rosemary Stevens' office. Or Logan Hall's buckling outer walls. Or the weak mortar binding the stone structure of both buildings. During one of the many renovations in the history of College Hall, which currently houses administrative offices as well as classrooms, a whole section of chimney masonry was removed from Stevens' office area. After that portion was taken out, however, it was replaced with weak supports to hold up the top portion of the remaining chimney. "We had to build a steel structure to support the upper chimney position," Physical Plant Project Manager Bill Wilkinson said. And the rehabilitation of Logan Hall, which formerly housed many Arts and Sciences departments, began as a simple roof repair. It turned into a huge project when workers realized water had been entering between the outside skin and the inside wall of the building. "The outside was beginning to buckle under its own weight, and the water coming in between the two layers just aggravated the process," Wilkinson said. The material bonding the two layers had either eroded or was weak to begin with, he added. Much of the mortar binding the stones of College and Logan hall's walls needs to be replaced, Wilkinson said. Working on century-old buildings takes time. As a result, to many in the University community, College and Logan halls seem to be better examples of scaffolding and construction sites than of lofty-purposed gothic architecture. The renovation of the buildings began in 1987, when the southern wall of College Hall was used as a prototype to test different restoration techniques. The information gathered in 1987 was applicable as well to Logan Hall, because the two buildings are so similar. Logan Hall's rehabilitation began between 1988 and 1989, when a construction crew began repairing the roof of the building. The beauty of the two buildings is apparent on their interiors, as well as their weathered exteriors. The windows in what used to be the president's office in College Hall look out on College Green. The windows illuminate the room's high ceilings and fireplace. And Logan Hall, the first home of the University's medical school, has as its most noticeable feature a huge central staircase that flares out dramatically on each floor landing. But what is not visible to many admirers of College and Logan halls, is the slightly-less-than-majestic appearance of the buildings' internal wall structures. Both buildings, Wilkinson explained, were built with very thick walls, which were needed to support the weight of the buildings. "The weight of all the higher floors is carried down to the foundation through the walls," he said. "Today's buildings are concrete and steel structures, and the load is carried through steel columns while the walls are only a skin." And both buildings were built with "a suspect methodology," which created relatively weak structures. "As we started to take the wall finishes off, we could see what kind of construction details they had used on the inside of the building," Wilkinson said. "They had done some things you would just not expect." College Hall and Logan Hall are both over a century old, with limited classroom and administrative space. So, why spend so much time and money to repair them? For history's sake, officials say. College Hall, the University's first building, housed the entire University when it was first built. The now narrow front hallway was three times as large as it is now, with three high arches. "It used to be a big grand spacious hall," said George Thomas, an historic preservation and urban studies lecturer. "Now it looks like something in a Howard Johnson's." And College Hall's staircase enclosures, which make the current hallways extremely dark, are not original. The huge rear windows used to illuminate the areas around the offices and classrooms on all of College Hall's floors. "Windows as big as that aren't meant to be covered up," Wilkinson said. He hopes to remove the staircase enclosures, restoring light to the "dark and dreary" hallways. Some changes, however, cannot be undone. When it was built, College Hall had two tall clock towers on either end. In 1914, the west end tower was removed, and in 1929 the east end tower was taken down. Logan Hall, the University's second building, was built with the study of medicine in mind. "The medical school was built with three large amphitheaters in the back," Thomas said. "Most medical training was by example back then." The University's original hospital, designed by the same architect and built across Spruce Street, was built to be in close proximity to the medical school. Hare Hall, which stood next to Logan Hall on the current site of Williams Hall, represented a first in medical training. "William Pepper, provost after Stille, realized that there were better ways to teach than by lecture," Thomas said. "The Hare Building was the first dedicated lab building on any campus." Logan Hall has undergone many changes during its lifetime, such as a complete refurbishment of the building's east face. College Hall still closely resembles its original design. Vice President of Facilities Management Art Gravina said while Logan Hall is simply being repaired, College Hall is being restored to the way it looked in the 1870s. Wilkinson has high hopes that the final restoration will look authentic, right down to the smallest detail. For example, Wilkinson is particularly concerned about the finishes of the huge window sills in the former administrative offices. The last time the University renovated, he said, they laminated sharp corners right over the artistic, rounded detail of the original sills. "The intent is to put it back with a finish or detail representative of the period" during which it was installed, he said. Both buildings represent the oldest, and possibly richest, aspect of University history. "When the construction is done," Thomas said, "the University will have two great jewels."