The Council of Independent Colleges: Historic Campus Architecture Project

Sale Hall

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Institution Name: Morehouse College
Original/Historic Place Name: Sale Hall
Location on Campus: 830 Westview Dr.
Date(s) of Construction:

1910	original construction

Designer: unknown
Type of Place: Individual building
Style: Beaux-Arts classicism (Glossary)
Significance: architecture, culture, education, history, religion
Narrative: see below
References: see below

Materials:

Foundation: concrete stone base with a grapevine mortar

Walls: red brick accented by stone window sills

Roof: hipped shingle

Function:

ca. 1910	library
ca. 1910	other (training facility and high school academy)
ca. 1910	administration
1910-present (2006)	classrooms
1910-present (2006)	theater
1910-present (2006)	auditorium (seats 700)
1910-present (2006)	chapel
ca. 2004-present (2006)	other (College Honors Program office)
ca. 2004-present (2006)	library (archive center for historic papers)

Narrative:
This 24,464 square foot building with a 700-seat auditorium at one time housed administrative offices, classrooms, and the campus library. It was also the location of an academy (high school) until City and State accreditation requirements necessitated its removal from the campus circa 1922-1923.

In the past, the auditorium, like its predecessor the Martin Luther King Chapel, was the place wherein the young men of Morehouse gathered, including the late Dr. King himself. There they listened to lectures and speeches delivered by Dr. Benjamin E. Mays and other historically prominent individuals. Presently, the auditorium is used for performances, meetings, and other gatherings. The Howard Thurman Meditation Room, a repository for the Thurman papers, is located on the second floor of the building.

References:

Bacote, Clarence A. The Story of Atlanta University, A Century of Service, 1865-1965. Atlanta, GA: Atlanta University, 1969.

Campus Master Plan, Morehouse College, Atlanta, GA, 2002.

Carter, Edward R. The Black Side; A Partial History of the Business, Religious, and Educational Side of the Negro in Atlanta, Ga. Atlanta, GA, 1894.

Jones, Edward A. A Candle in the Dark, A History of Morehouse College. Valley Forge, PA: Judson Press, 1967.