Cushing Hall
{{About|the Hampden–Sydney College dormitory|the Vassar College dormitory|Cushing House}}
{{Infobox building
| name = Cushing Hall
| image = Cushing Hall HSC.JPG
| image_alt = Cushing Hall at Hampden–Sydney College
| image_size = 270px
| caption = Cushing Hall at Hampden–Sydney. Front facade, from the south.
| former_names = New College, The College
| etymology = Jonathan P. Cushing
| building_type = Dormitory
| architectural_style = Federal
| architect = William Phaup and Reuben Perry
| start_date = 1822
| completion_date = 1833
| floor_count = 4
| location = Hampden Sydney, Virginia
| owner = Hampden–Sydney College
| current_tenants = Hampden–Sydney College
| location_country = United States
| coordinates = {{Coord|37.243811|-78.460886|display=inline,title}}{{Google maps|url=https://www.google.com/maps/place/37°14'37.7"N+78°27'39.2"W/@37.2438369,-78.4609373 |title= Cushing Hall, Hampden–Sydney, VA 23943|accessdate= October 30, 2014}}
}}
Cushing Hall (1824) is a dormitory at Hampden–Sydney College in southside Virginia. Built in sections from 1822–1833, Cushing Hall is the oldest four story dormitory still in use in the United States. The building is listed in the Virginia Landmarks Register (1969) and on the National Register of Historic Places (1970)[http://www.dhr.virginia.gov/registers/RegisterMasterList.pdf] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170627142023/http://www.dhr.virginia.gov/registers/registermasterlist.pdf |date=2017-06-27 }}, Master List of Virginia Landmarks Register and National Register of Historic Places as a contributing property of Hampden–Sydney College Historic District. The structure is named after Jonathan P. Cushing, the fifth president of the college.
History
Cushing Hall was designed by William Phaup and Reuben Perry in the Federal style of architecture. The east wing and center section were completed by 1824, and the west section by 1833. Cushing Hall almost entirely replaced all the older buildings on the campus and was called "the College" (or "New College") until the early 20th century, when it was named Cushing Hall in honor of the College's fifth president, Jonathan P. Cushing.[http://www.hsc.edu/Museum/EAM/Then-and-Now.html Hampden–Sydney Buildings] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110929022804/http://www.hsc.edu/Museum/EAM/Then-and-Now.html |date=2011-09-29 }}, H-SC Then & Now
After almost a decade after being founded at the University of Virginia, Pi Kappa Alpha was "re-founded" as part of the Hampden–Sydney Convention, held in a student room of Cushing Hall in the late 1870s. The four delegates to the Hampden–Sydney Convention are referred to as the Junior Founders. It was at this convention that the fraternity defined itself as belonging to "the South." At the New Orleans Convention in 1909, Pi Kappa Alpha officially decided to declare itself a national organization.{{cite book|title=Garnet & Gold Pledge Guide|year=1970|publisher=Pi Kappa Alpha Fraternity|edition=15th}}
The exterior has been restored and the interior modernized (first in 1910, more recently in 1998). Porches were added in 1910, along with a slate roof, replacing the original cedar shakes. The front of the building was originally the back, which faced the 18th century campus (which it also replaced).
Cushing Hall is the model for Venable Hall (which originally housed Hampden–Sydney's seminary school, now used primarily as a dormitory) and the Randolph–Macon Building in Boydton, Virginia.[http://puka.cs.waikato.ac.nz/cgi-bin/cic/library?a=p&p=home The Council of Independent Colleges] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110816051722/http://puka.cs.waikato.ac.nz/cgi-bin/cic/library?a=p&p=home |date=2011-08-16 }}, Historic Campus Architecture Project
Functions
File:R-MC Boydton.png Building in Boydton, Virginia, built in the 1830s, was designed after Cushing Hall. (The building was abandoned by the college in 1868 when it moved to Ashland due to financial reasons associated with Reconstruction.)]]
As with many 19th Century buildings in academia, Cushing Hall has been used for a myriad of functions throughout its lifetime. Since the 1820s, the building has been used as an auditorium, chapel, library, classrooms, and residence hall.
References
{{reflist}}
External links
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20110929022804/http://www.hsc.edu/Museum/EAM/Then-and-Now.html Cushing Hall - Hampden–Sydney College]
{{commonscat|Cushing Hall|position=left}}
{{Hampden–Sydney College}}
Category:1824 establishments in Virginia
Category:1833 establishments in Virginia
Category:Buildings and structures in Prince Edward County, Virginia
Category:Education in Prince Edward County, Virginia
Category:Hampden–Sydney College
Category:National Register of Historic Places in Prince Edward County, Virginia
Category:University and college residential buildings in Virginia
Category:University and college buildings on the National Register of Historic Places in Virginia