The Council of Independent Colleges: Historic Campus Architecture Project

Chesapeake-Delaware Hall

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Chesapeake-Delaware Hall, Wilkes University

Institution Name: Wilkes University
Original/Historic Place Name: Property of Benjamin Reynolds
Location on Campus: 68-74 W. Northampton St.
Date(s) of Construction:

ca. 1885

original construction Kipp, Albert Hamilton

Designer: Albert Hamilton Kipp
Type of Place: Individual building
Style: Other (Glossary)
Significance: architecture, culture, history
Narrative: see below
References: see below

Materials:

Foundation: brick

Walls: brick

Roof: asphalt shingle (previously slate)

Function:

ca. 1885	private residence (multiple)
ca. 2004-present (2006)	residence hall

Narrative:
Chesapeake and Delaware Halls were built about 1885 as a block of four rental houses with a common facade. Paid for by Benjamin Reynolds, a local banker and businessman, the houses were designed by the Wilkes-Barre architectural firm of Albert Kipp to conform to the standards of the area. The houses were initially occupied by professional and upper-middle-class families who became long-term renters.

As the neighborhood declined after World War II, the building was renovated into apartments. The front entrances were altered and a large one-story frame porch was removed. The block was purchased by Wilkes College in 1967 and converted into student residential facilities, which were named to honor Native American tribes of the Luzerne County area.

References:

Andrews, Ronald L. "An Inventory of Historical Landmarks on the Campus of Wilkes College, Wilkes-Barre, Luzerne County, Pennsylvania." Typescript. July 1975. Wilkes University, Wilkes-Barre, PA.

Andrews, Ronald L. Historic Sites Survey of Wilkes-Barre: Final Report. Wilkes-Barre, PA: Wyoming Historical and Geological Society, 1979.

Cox, Harold E. The Wilkes University Historical Atlas. Wilkes-Barre, PA: Wilkes University Press, 1997.