swat history - academic buildings

Photo Name Constructed / Dedicated Purpose

Parrish Hall 1868 Parrish is the central building of Swarthmore College. It was the first building constructed by the college and originally served not only as a residence hall, but also as an academic building, administrative center, dining hall - in essence, the entire college.¹ Today the entire first floor and half of the second floor houses administrative offices; the other half of the second floor and all of the third and fourth floors serve as dorm space for students. The post office, student activity boards, and two large meeting rooms (Parrish Parlours) are located on the first floor. Student organizations, including WSRN 91.5 FM, The Phoenix, and SCCS, have offices on the fifth floor of Parrish. A major renovation of the building is scheduled from January 2007 to September 2009.
As a dorm, Parrish is one of the more difficult places for students to choose into during the housing lottery. The student population is comprised mainly of seniors and juniors in singles, with very few sophomores and a reasonable number of first-years. First-year students are typically housed in doubles, though there are several triples on each floor. All rooms have hardwood floors and most have very spacious ceilings - some rooms are taller than they are wide. Parrish is the one dorm that is not entirely co-ed: the east side of the building houses females, and the west side houses males. Though it's the third-largest dorm and enjoys a perfect location in the center of campus, Parrish does not have much hall life, allowing students to study in their rooms without the distractions found in some of the rowdier dorms. No smoking is allowed anywere in Parrish.
Population: 164 students
First-Year Students: 37
(9.9% of the class)

Sproul Observatory 1878 Sproul Observatory was originally constructed as the President's House in 1878, making it the second building constructed by Swarthmore College. In 1911, William Cameron Sproul '91 donated funds to the College to renovate the building into an observatory. The observatory's telescope spans nearly the entire diameter of the dome, and is still in use today. Sproul now holds the offices of Astronomy and Computer Science; the CS Sun Lab on the second floor was completely renovated in the summer of 1998.

Trotter Hall 1881 Trotter Hall was the first academic building built after Parrish Hall. Originally named Science Hall, it was constructed for the study of the natural sciences - on the south face of the building are inscribed the words, "Engineering, Physics, Chemistry". The east wing of the building was added in 1920 and dedicated as the "Trotter Laboratory of Biology," named after a popular professor, Spencer Trotter. In 1937, the entire building was renamed to Trotter Hall in his memory. In 1959 the last physics class was taught in the building - since then, no natural sciences have been taught in Trotter. After the completion of Kohlberg in 1996, the interior of the building was completely gutted and reconstructed; work was completed in late 1997.² Trotter is currently home to the departments of Political Science and History.

Beardsley Hall 1904 Beardsley Hall is named after Swarthmore's first professor of Engineering. Sometime after its construction, the building's size was expanded by about one third - on the side near Dupont, there is a noticible difference in the coloring of the brick, and also a smaller window on the third floor to indicate where the end of the building once was. The inside of Beardsley is relatively old and utilitarian compared to most other academic buildings on Swarthmore's campus. The first floor and part of the second house the computing center; there is a large and newly renovated (Summer '99) public computing lab on the first floor. The rest of the building is used for studio art and art history. Student works can be found hanging on the corridors of the third floor.

Pearson Hall 1904 Pearson is home to the departments of education, linguistics, and religion, as well as the Office of Foreign Study. Though it is clearly an old building, the interior has been recently renovated and is in extremely good shape.

Hicks Hall 1919 Hicks Hall is the home of Swarthmore's renowned Engineering Department. In addition to classrooms and offices, there are many laboratories scattered throughout (and on top of) the building. On the third floor of Hicks, there is a room whose walls are covered with a 1930's mural depicting War, Peace, Science, and Poverty. For more information, see an article from the December 3, 1999 Phoenix.

Papazian Hall 1926 Papazian is Swarthmore's only academic building that was not built by the College. The Bartol Foundation, a research arm of the Franklin Institute, originally established a lab in the borough of Swarthmore in 1924. Only days after the atomic bombs were dropped on Japan, it was revealed that the Bartol Foundation had been involved in atomic research for all of the 21 years that it had been at Swarthmore.⁵ The building now known as Papazian was built several years later, in 1948, as an additional research laboratory for the Foundation. Students and professors alike were employed there doing research until 1978, when the College purchased the building and restored it.³ Today, Papazian is home to philosophy, psychology, and an engineering laboratory. Some students say that the building is a psychological experiment in and of itself - its Escheresque architecture and bizarre interior design leave many wondering if they are not simply rats running around in a maze.

Martin Hall 1937 Martin was originally built as the home of the Biology department, and retains that function to this day. It is one of only two buildings on Swarthmore's campus which are home to only one department. Though the building is old, it is still in remarkably good condition; the labs were completely renovated only a few years ago, as well. Just inside the main entrace to Martin is Kirby Lecture Hall, one of Swarthmore's two lecture halls, where students sometimes show movies or hold meetings. In the upcoming renovation of Dupont Science Hall, scheduled from June 2001 to June 2004, Martin will be joined with Cornell Science & Engineering Library and Dupont to form a new, unified science complex.

DuPont Science Hall 1960 Dupont is the home to chemistry, math, physics, and astronomy at Swarthmore. The building is composed of four wings around a central courtyard; its height varies from one to three stories (counting the basement). Dupont has classrooms, lab space, several public computer labs, a lecture hall, and offices. It is scheduled for a major renovation from June 2001 - June 2004; whatever parts of the building are not demolished will be completely reconstructed, and the building will be linked with Cornell and Martin. The College plans to make better use of the space Dupont takes up and also make it more aesthetically pleasing (right now Dupont is considered by many to be the ugliest building on campus). Swarthmore is also planning to add a "Science Commons" area to Dupont, much like the Coffee Bar that exists in Kohlberg right now. Progress on the renovation can be found at http://www.swarthmore.edu/NatSci/sciproject/.⁵
Swarthmore College planned on building Dupont almost 14 years before construction actually began on the building. One of the earliest sketches of the proposed science hall envisions a simple two-story building in the same basic shape as Wharton with a small belltower in the middle. Of course, this idea never made it past the planning stages, and the result was a building that made no attempt to fit in with Swarthmore's architectural scheme. Even immediately after its completion, the Phoenix labeled it as only being "purely functional."

McCabe Library 1967 McCabe Library is Swarthmore's main library and home to more than 880,000 volumes as of 1997. The four-story monolith also contains the Friends Historical Library, the Peace Collection, and various periodicals, newspapers, and videos. McCabe can seat approximately 600 students in study carols, lounge areas, and honors study rooms. Despite its vast resources, many students dislike McCabe because of its dull red carpet, uncomfortable seating, and lack of natural lighting. Indeed, when McCabe first opened in 1967, the first concern expressed by the Phoenix was the lack of window space in the building. A major renovation of McCabe is scheduled from September 2010 to June 2011.
Plans for a new library first manifested themselves after the end of World War II, in November 1946. The first sketch that appeared of the proposed library depicted a large, blocky, three-story building with many large windows. Like the original proposals for Dupont and Willets, though, the proposed architecture would change considerably before the building was constructed. By October 1965, plans for McCabe had been finalized and were estimated at $3 million. The Sommerville student union building, which had been a part of Swarthmore's campus since 1894, was demolished on May 6, 1966 so that McCabe could be built in its place. McCabe first opened its doors to students in Fall, 1967.

Lang Music Building 1973 The Lang Music Building was the first building built by the College which was dedicated entirely to the humanities - until that time, all the previous academic buildings had been devoted to the study of the natural sciences. Lang is home to the music department, the Underhill Music Library, and a concert hall with a three-story window looking out on the Crum Woods. The Underhill Music Library has more than 16,000 scores, books, and music periodicals, as well as more than 16,000 sound recordings.

Cornell Science & Engineering Library 1982 Cornell is home to books, periodicals, and other resources relating to the natural sciences. Due to the wonderful layout of the library, Cornell is a common place to find students of all disciplines studying. Large windows allow sunlight into the entire building; indeed, the side of Cornell facing the Crum Woods is nothing but a giant two-story window. The basement is one of the most popular study spots on campus as it has large tables for groups to gather at, comfortable chairs for individuals to relax in, and a spectacular view of the Crum. The second floor of Cornell is quite possibly the quietest place at Swarthmore; talking is prohibited on the entire floor, and dozens of study carols are available for individual use. There are many public computers - mainly iMacs - spread throughout the building, including one large lab on the second floor. In addition to numerous scientific texts, a large repository of science fiction novels can be found on the second floor of Cornell.

Lang Performing Arts Center 1991 LPAC is the home of the theatre, dance, and music departments of Swarthmore College. In addition to classrooms, there are several dance studios, an art gallery, and a large stage for theater, dance, and drama productions. LPAC also has a large movie theater which shows recent movie releases on Friday and Saturday nights. LPAC and the Lang Music Building are connected on the second floor by an outdoor walkway.

Kohlberg Hall 1996 Kohlberg Hall is Swarthmore's newest and most modern building. In addition to being the home of the departments of Economics, Modern Languages and Literatures, and Sociology and Anthropology, Kohlberg houses the Credit Union, language lab, faculty lounge, and a coffee bar. There are computer labs on the first and third floors of the building, and classrooms of all sizes on all three floors. The Kohlberg Coffee Bar has a wonderful view of both the grassy North Quad and the Ruins Garden situated between it and Parrish, making it a favorite study spot and hangout for students.

Sources:
1 - Swarthmore College: An Informal History
2 - Alumni Bulletin
3 - The Swarthmorean
4 - Elizabeth Weber's Swarthmore History Articles
5 - http://www.swarthmore.edu/

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Photo	Name	Constructed / Dedicated	Purpose
	Parrish Hall	1868	Parrish is the central building of Swarthmore College. It was the first building constructed by the college and originally served not only as a residence hall, but also as an academic building, administrative center, dining hall - in essence, the entire college.¹ Today the entire first floor and half of the second floor houses administrative offices; the other half of the second floor and all of the third and fourth floors serve as dorm space for students. The post office, student activity boards, and two large meeting rooms (Parrish Parlours) are located on the first floor. Student organizations, including WSRN 91.5 FM, The Phoenix, and SCCS, have offices on the fifth floor of Parrish. A major renovation of the building is scheduled from January 2007 to September 2009. As a dorm, Parrish is one of the more difficult places for students to choose into during the housing lottery. The student population is comprised mainly of seniors and juniors in singles, with very few sophomores and a reasonable number of first-years. First-year students are typically housed in doubles, though there are several triples on each floor. All rooms have hardwood floors and most have very spacious ceilings - some rooms are taller than they are wide. Parrish is the one dorm that is not entirely co-ed: the east side of the building houses females, and the west side houses males. Though it's the third-largest dorm and enjoys a perfect location in the center of campus, Parrish does not have much hall life, allowing students to study in their rooms without the distractions found in some of the rowdier dorms. No smoking is allowed anywere in Parrish. Population: 164 students First-Year Students: 37 (9.9% of the class)
	Sproul Observatory	1878	Sproul Observatory was originally constructed as the President's House in 1878, making it the second building constructed by Swarthmore College. In 1911, William Cameron Sproul '91 donated funds to the College to renovate the building into an observatory. The observatory's telescope spans nearly the entire diameter of the dome, and is still in use today. Sproul now holds the offices of Astronomy and Computer Science; the CS Sun Lab on the second floor was completely renovated in the summer of 1998.
	Trotter Hall	1881	Trotter Hall was the first academic building built after Parrish Hall. Originally named Science Hall, it was constructed for the study of the natural sciences - on the south face of the building are inscribed the words, "Engineering, Physics, Chemistry". The east wing of the building was added in 1920 and dedicated as the "Trotter Laboratory of Biology," named after a popular professor, Spencer Trotter. In 1937, the entire building was renamed to Trotter Hall in his memory. In 1959 the last physics class was taught in the building - since then, no natural sciences have been taught in Trotter. After the completion of Kohlberg in 1996, the interior of the building was completely gutted and reconstructed; work was completed in late 1997.² Trotter is currently home to the departments of Political Science and History.
	Beardsley Hall	1904	Beardsley Hall is named after Swarthmore's first professor of Engineering. Sometime after its construction, the building's size was expanded by about one third - on the side near Dupont, there is a noticible difference in the coloring of the brick, and also a smaller window on the third floor to indicate where the end of the building once was. The inside of Beardsley is relatively old and utilitarian compared to most other academic buildings on Swarthmore's campus. The first floor and part of the second house the computing center; there is a large and newly renovated (Summer '99) public computing lab on the first floor. The rest of the building is used for studio art and art history. Student works can be found hanging on the corridors of the third floor.
	Pearson Hall	1904	Pearson is home to the departments of education, linguistics, and religion, as well as the Office of Foreign Study. Though it is clearly an old building, the interior has been recently renovated and is in extremely good shape.
	Hicks Hall	1919	Hicks Hall is the home of Swarthmore's renowned Engineering Department. In addition to classrooms and offices, there are many laboratories scattered throughout (and on top of) the building. On the third floor of Hicks, there is a room whose walls are covered with a 1930's mural depicting War, Peace, Science, and Poverty. For more information, see an article from the December 3, 1999 Phoenix.
	Papazian Hall	1926	Papazian is Swarthmore's only academic building that was not built by the College. The Bartol Foundation, a research arm of the Franklin Institute, originally established a lab in the borough of Swarthmore in 1924. Only days after the atomic bombs were dropped on Japan, it was revealed that the Bartol Foundation had been involved in atomic research for all of the 21 years that it had been at Swarthmore.⁵ The building now known as Papazian was built several years later, in 1948, as an additional research laboratory for the Foundation. Students and professors alike were employed there doing research until 1978, when the College purchased the building and restored it.³ Today, Papazian is home to philosophy, psychology, and an engineering laboratory. Some students say that the building is a psychological experiment in and of itself - its Escheresque architecture and bizarre interior design leave many wondering if they are not simply rats running around in a maze.
	Martin Hall	1937	Martin was originally built as the home of the Biology department, and retains that function to this day. It is one of only two buildings on Swarthmore's campus which are home to only one department. Though the building is old, it is still in remarkably good condition; the labs were completely renovated only a few years ago, as well. Just inside the main entrace to Martin is Kirby Lecture Hall, one of Swarthmore's two lecture halls, where students sometimes show movies or hold meetings. In the upcoming renovation of Dupont Science Hall, scheduled from June 2001 to June 2004, Martin will be joined with Cornell Science & Engineering Library and Dupont to form a new, unified science complex.
	DuPont Science Hall	1960	Dupont is the home to chemistry, math, physics, and astronomy at Swarthmore. The building is composed of four wings around a central courtyard; its height varies from one to three stories (counting the basement). Dupont has classrooms, lab space, several public computer labs, a lecture hall, and offices. It is scheduled for a major renovation from June 2001 - June 2004; whatever parts of the building are not demolished will be completely reconstructed, and the building will be linked with Cornell and Martin. The College plans to make better use of the space Dupont takes up and also make it more aesthetically pleasing (right now Dupont is considered by many to be the ugliest building on campus). Swarthmore is also planning to add a "Science Commons" area to Dupont, much like the Coffee Bar that exists in Kohlberg right now. Progress on the renovation can be found at http://www.swarthmore.edu/NatSci/sciproject/.⁵ Swarthmore College planned on building Dupont almost 14 years before construction actually began on the building. One of the earliest sketches of the proposed science hall envisions a simple two-story building in the same basic shape as Wharton with a small belltower in the middle. Of course, this idea never made it past the planning stages, and the result was a building that made no attempt to fit in with Swarthmore's architectural scheme. Even immediately after its completion, the Phoenix labeled it as only being "purely functional."
	McCabe Library	1967	McCabe Library is Swarthmore's main library and home to more than 880,000 volumes as of 1997. The four-story monolith also contains the Friends Historical Library, the Peace Collection, and various periodicals, newspapers, and videos. McCabe can seat approximately 600 students in study carols, lounge areas, and honors study rooms. Despite its vast resources, many students dislike McCabe because of its dull red carpet, uncomfortable seating, and lack of natural lighting. Indeed, when McCabe first opened in 1967, the first concern expressed by the Phoenix was the lack of window space in the building. A major renovation of McCabe is scheduled from September 2010 to June 2011. Plans for a new library first manifested themselves after the end of World War II, in November 1946. The first sketch that appeared of the proposed library depicted a large, blocky, three-story building with many large windows. Like the original proposals for Dupont and Willets, though, the proposed architecture would change considerably before the building was constructed. By October 1965, plans for McCabe had been finalized and were estimated at $3 million. The Sommerville student union building, which had been a part of Swarthmore's campus since 1894, was demolished on May 6, 1966 so that McCabe could be built in its place. McCabe first opened its doors to students in Fall, 1967.
	Lang Music Building	1973	The Lang Music Building was the first building built by the College which was dedicated entirely to the humanities - until that time, all the previous academic buildings had been devoted to the study of the natural sciences. Lang is home to the music department, the Underhill Music Library, and a concert hall with a three-story window looking out on the Crum Woods. The Underhill Music Library has more than 16,000 scores, books, and music periodicals, as well as more than 16,000 sound recordings.
	Cornell Science & Engineering Library	1982	Cornell is home to books, periodicals, and other resources relating to the natural sciences. Due to the wonderful layout of the library, Cornell is a common place to find students of all disciplines studying. Large windows allow sunlight into the entire building; indeed, the side of Cornell facing the Crum Woods is nothing but a giant two-story window. The basement is one of the most popular study spots on campus as it has large tables for groups to gather at, comfortable chairs for individuals to relax in, and a spectacular view of the Crum. The second floor of Cornell is quite possibly the quietest place at Swarthmore; talking is prohibited on the entire floor, and dozens of study carols are available for individual use. There are many public computers - mainly iMacs - spread throughout the building, including one large lab on the second floor. In addition to numerous scientific texts, a large repository of science fiction novels can be found on the second floor of Cornell.
	Lang Performing Arts Center	1991	LPAC is the home of the theatre, dance, and music departments of Swarthmore College. In addition to classrooms, there are several dance studios, an art gallery, and a large stage for theater, dance, and drama productions. LPAC also has a large movie theater which shows recent movie releases on Friday and Saturday nights. LPAC and the Lang Music Building are connected on the second floor by an outdoor walkway.
	Kohlberg Hall	1996	Kohlberg Hall is Swarthmore's newest and most modern building. In addition to being the home of the departments of Economics, Modern Languages and Literatures, and Sociology and Anthropology, Kohlberg houses the Credit Union, language lab, faculty lounge, and a coffee bar. There are computer labs on the first and third floors of the building, and classrooms of all sizes on all three floors. The Kohlberg Coffee Bar has a wonderful view of both the grassy North Quad and the Ruins Garden situated between it and Parrish, making it a favorite study spot and hangout for students.