Concise Encyclopedia of Tufts History
Sauer, Anne
Branco, Jessica
Bennett, John
Crowley, Zachary
2000
Ballou Hall, 1852
Ballou Hall, named for Tufts' first president Hosea Ballou 2d, was the first building to be erected for the new Tufts College. The cornerstone was laid in 1853 and construction was completed the following year. Designed by Boston architect Gridley James Fox Bryant (1816-1899), Ballou Hall was initially referred to as simply College Building or College Hall. It housed classrooms, the library, laboratories, a museum, administrative and faculty offices, student living quarters, and a chapel, now the Coolidge Room. | |
As Tufts grew, Ballou Hall no longer had to serve as the home of all college activities. One by one, the library, chapel, academic departments, and laboratories were moved from Ballou into new facilities. One hundred years after its completion, plans were made for extensive renovations to the interior of Ballou to better adapt the building to its new role as administrative heart of the university. The last classes were held there in the spring of 1955, and renovations were completed over the course of the next several years. The Coolidge Room, dedicated in 1957, was named for Arthur W. Coolidge, A1903, and his son Robert T. Coolidge, A1936.As the large chapel for Tufts College, it was the site of the first faculty meeting on October 9, 1854, and the second commencement for the college. | |
Source: Tolles, Bryant Franklin, Jr. "Gridley J.F. Bryant and the First Building at Tufts College." Old-Time New England, April-June 1973, 89-99.; RNTB1 | |
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