The Council of Independent Colleges: Historic Campus Architecture Project

Dexter Hall

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Dexter Hall (three-quarter view), Converse College

Dexter Hall (partial view, ca. 2004), Converse College

Institution Name: Converse College
Original/Historic Place Name: Dexter Hall
Location on Campus: front campus, left of Pell Hall
Date(s) of Construction:

1899	original construction

Designer: unknown
Type of Place: Individual building
Style: Romanesque revival (Glossary)
Significance: architecture, education
Narrative: see below
References: see below

Materials:

Foundation: brick

Walls: brick

Roof: seamed metal

Function:

1899-1960	gymnasium (with swimming pool)
1899-present (2006)	residence hall

Narrative:
When it was built in 1899, Dexter Hall was a four story brick building with an entrance porch. It originally contained dormitory suites, a gymnasium, and later a swimming pool, and it was connected to Wilson Hall by a covered passage. Dexter Hall was renovated in 1960 and converted into a dormitory.

References:

Eaddy, Mary Ann. Converse College Historic District. National Register of Historic Places designation report. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of the Interior/National Park Service, 1975.

Kibler, Lillian Adele. The History of Converse College. Spartanburg, SC: Converse College, 1973.

Willis, Jeffrey R. Converse College: A Pictorial History. Spartanburg, SC: Converse College, 2001.