The Council of Independent Colleges: Historic Campus Architecture Project

Wallace Hall

Click on image titles for larger views.

Institution Name: Monmouth College
Original/Historic Place Name: Wallace Hall
Location on Campus: 834 E. Broadway St.
Date(s) of Construction:

1909	original construction Hewitt, Herbert E.

Designer: Herbert E. Hewitt
Type of Place: Individual building
Style: Beaux-Arts classicism, Colonial revival (Glossary)
Significance: architecture, education
Narrative: see below
References: see below

Materials:

Foundation: limestone

Walls: brick

Roof: metal

Function:

ca. 1909	auditorium (recital hall)
ca. 2004-present (2006)	administration (offices of Academic Dean and President)
ca. 2004-present (2006)	classrooms

Narrative:
Named for the first president of Monmouth College, the Rev. David Alexander Wallace (1826-1883), Wallace Hall was built on the site of the original college building, "Old Main," which burned in 1907. It was completed in just 15 months due to the extraordinary fundraising efforts of President T.H. McMichael, who persevered in seeing the building constructed despite difficult financial times for the college. Designed by the noted Peoria, Illinois architect Herbert E. Hewitt, the Georgian Revival building originally housed elegant rooms for the college's literary societies on the top floor. Its wood and metal cupola is the signature image for the college and appears on the college logo. The building has received several renovations in recent years, but its exterior remains essentially unchanged.

References:

Davenport, F. Garvin. Monmouth College: The First Hundred Years. Cedar Rapids, IA: Torch Press, 1953.

Meyer, Daniel, and Jeffrey D. Rankin. A Thousand Hearts' Devotion: A History of Monmouth College, Monmouth, IL: Monmouth College, 2002.