The Council of Independent Colleges: Historic Campus Architecture Project

McAuley-Walsh (new wing)

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Walsh Auditorium (exterior, 1957), College Misericordia

Institution Name: College Misericordia
Original/Historic Place Name: McAuley Walsh or McAuley Annex (unofficial) Walsh Auditorium
Location on Campus:
Date(s) of Construction:

1951	groundbreaking June 6, 1951 Yundt, George
1952	dedication December 15, 1952
1952	occupation; September 15, 1952

Designer: George Yundt (Philadelphia)
Type of Place: Individual building
Style: Gothic revival (Glossary)
Significance: architecture, culture, education
Narrative: see below
References: see below

Materials:

Foundation: stone and masonry

Walls: hollow tile and reinforced concrete faced with rough buff texture brick, trimmed with terra cotta, limestone and granite

Roof: ballasted rubber membrane (current)

Function:

1951-1993	gymnasium
1951-1993	residence hall
1951-present (2006)	auditorium
1993-present (2006)	faculty offices

Narrative:
Newspaper accounts of the December 15, 1951 dedication ceremonies refer either to the new McAuley wing or an unnamed "new building" or "new unit" of the College, serving "three distinct functional elements." The lower level was "equipped with a modern gymnasium, showers, dressing rooms and lockers. The auditorium occupies the complete wing on the main level. The upper floor provides a modern residence unit with accommodations for 45 students. This increases the capacity of McAuley Hall to 100 . . . The combination of these different functions is an economical solution of a long needed requirement in the college plant" (Catholic Light, Dec. 18, 1952).

The auditorium, named Walsh Auditorium (for Mother Teresa Walsh, R.S.M.) has provided the stage for thousands of educational and cultural events for students (and community), from freshman investiture, student performances, and guest lecturers to commencement's hooding ceremony. Programs have run the gamut from student recitals and student theatre productions to graduate level performers, highly distinguished scholars, and world class entertainers. Many of the College's offerings are free to the public to this day.

McGinty Gymnasium, named for registrar (and basketball coach) Sister Eloise McGinty, served the college until the 1993 dedication of the Anderson Health and Sports Complex. The area has been renovated to provide communications, educational technology, and new media labs, and houses a television studio. The upper floor was renovated to provide faculty and staff offices for a growing allied health division (nursing, occupational therapy, physical therapy) at the College.

References:

Collection of master plans. Office of the Vice-President of Financial Affairs, College Misericordia, Dallas, PA.

Ference, Regina C. A History of College Misericordia. M. A. thesis, University of Scranton, 1963.

Herron, Mary Ualalia. The Sisters of Mercy in the United States 1843-1928. New York: Macmillan Co., 1929.

Kelly, Regina, and Agnes Toloczko Cardoni. At the Edge of Centuries: College Misericordia 1913-1999. Dallas, PA: College Misericordia, 1999.

Selected collections. Sister Mary Carmel McGarigle Archives, Benevino Library, College Misericordia, Dallas, PA.

Sisters of Mercy of the Americas Archives. Regional Community of Dallas, Dallas, PA.