UPbeat

News for and about University of Portland faculty and staff.

Waldschmidt Hall

130 Years of Service: Waldschmidt Hall 

Waldschmidt Hall holds the distinction of being the only building on campus to have housed many of the University’s main departments since the University’s first days–dormitory, classrooms, library, Chapel, dining hall, laboratories, administrative offices, infirmary. Standing as a Beacon on the Bluff for over 130 years Waldschmidt Hall (originally West Hall) has been a center for the University’s mission to educate the hearts and minds of all who enter. After an extensive upgrade and remodel thirty years ago in 1991–1992, West Hall was renamed Waldschmidt Hall at a dedication and renaming ceremony on October 17, 1992. For more photos and stories, follow our post from Archives & Artifacts. 

For more information, contact Carolyn Connolly, museum coordinator, at museum@up.edu or 8038. 

Celebrating Waldschmidt Hall Covert Gallery Exhibit

Did you know that Waldschmidt Hall started life on The Bluff as West Hall, built in 1891? Stop by the Covert Gallery on the main level of Clark Library to learn more about the history of this stalwart building in an exhibit that runs until Fall Break.

From housing both high school and university students, to its designation as a National Historic Building, to aerobics classes on the lawn–the stories this building could tell if only it could talk! After an extensive remodel in 1992, it was renamed Waldschmidt Hall in honor of the University’s 15th president, Bishop Paul Waldschmidt, CSC. As the University’s longest-serving building, Waldschmidt Hall has welcomed all University presidents from the first, Rev. E.P. Murphy who rang the opening bell on September 5, 1901, to the University’s 21st president, Dr. Robert Kelly. Happy birthday, Waldschmidt Hall!

Trick-or-Treaters Invading Waldschmidt Hall, Oct. 31

halloween2013Waldschmidt Hall will play host to a gaggle of young ghosts, goblins, ghouls, superheroes, and archvillians when the University’s daycare house denizens come trick-or-treating through offices on Monday, October 31, at approximately 10 a.m. For more information contact Andrea Palacios, Vermont Hills Family Life Centers, at 503.283.9688 or andreap@vhflc.com.

Trick-Or-Treaters Invading Waldschmidt Hall, Oct. 30

halloween2013Waldschmidt Hall will play host to a gaggle of young ghosts, goblins, ghouls, superheroes, and archvillians when the University’s daycare house denizens come trick-or-treating through offices on Friday, October 30, at approximately 10:30 a.m. For more information contact Cala Richman, Vermont Hills Family Life Centers, at 503.283.9688 or calar@vhflc.com.

New “In The Beginning” Series Entry

WaldschmidtHall150The University Archives and Museum have a new entry for the “In the Beginning” series on the Museum WordPress blog to mark the cornerstone dedication of West Hall on August 24, 1891. See the blog post and link for more photos and history at http://tinyurl.com/ntpydey. For more information, contact Carolyn Connolly, museum coordinator, at 8038 or piatz@up.edu.

From Our Past

aerialJune 8, 1911 saw the groundbreaking for Christie Hall, named for Archbishop Alexander Christie of the Portland Archdiocese, founder of Columbia University (renamed the University of Portland in 1935). When the campus property purchased in 1901 from the University Land Company, the terms called for the construction within ten years of a major building. A huge athletic field house had been built in 1903, large enough for indoor track meets and even baseball games, but Christie Hall would be the building which officially satisfied the terms of the sale. The archbishop himself turned the first shovelful of earth, and photographs show him, shovel in hand, towering above the gathered boys and faculty. Aerial photographs from the time show West (now Waldschmidt) Hall, Christie Hall, and the Columbia Colosseum huddled together on the mostly blank campus; Christie and West Halls survive, but the colosseum, which was located roughly where Howard Hall and the Pilot House are now, collapsed during a winter storm in 1927.

For more history from this week, see the University of Portland Almanac at www.up.edu/almanac/.