- Eberly Hall
Eberly Hall is an academic building on the campus of the
University of Pittsburgh in Pittsburgh,Pennsylvania ,United States . Designed by arcitectBenno Janssen and dedicated in 1921, Eberly Hall was originally named Alumni Hall, and is still sometimes referred to as "Old Alumni Hall" (Alumni Hall is now the name of another University Building).History
When the
United States enteredWorld War I in 1917, by law of Congress, all male college students were subject to military training. In the spring of 1918, Pitt began to train students for war-related industrial work. The war activity had caused a huge influx of students to Pitt and an equally large shortage of space. Pitt alumni began a fund raising campaign to construct a sorely needed new building. The campaign was a smashing success, raising $670,000 ($70,000 more than was needed), due at least in part to both the excitement of alumni with the championship caliber play of the Pitt football team (national champions or undefeated in 1910, 1915, 1916, 1917, 1918 and 1920) and by a $100,000 contribution directly from the Athletic Committee's football receipts. During construction which started in January 1920, it was discovered that the hillside was undercut with coal mines, some of which were on fire and emitting smoke upon digging. The mines were filled as construction progressed with the last fire being extinguished about a year after Eberly Hall was completed. [http://digital.library.pitt.edu/cgi-bin/t/text/pageviewer-idx?c=pittmiscpubs;cc=pittmiscpubs;g=documentingpitt;xc=1;xg=1;q1=alumni%20hall;rgn=full%20text;idno=00c50130m;didno=00c50130m;view=image;seq=0092] By 1921 Eberly Hall (then called Alumni Hall), was dedicated and signified a departure from and end to the original design for the University's campus, a hill side Acropolis Plan byHenry Hornbostel . Ironically, Eberly Hall's architect,Benno Janssen , was the runner-up to Horbostel in a national architectural competition for the design of the original campus plan. [http://digital.library.pitt.edu/cgi-bin/t/text/pageviewer-idx?c=pittmiscpubs;cc=pittmiscpubs;idno=00c50130m;node=00c50130m%3A11;frm=frameset;view=image;seq=90;page=root;size=s]Eberly Hall received its current name on September 11, 1998 in recognition of the Eberly family's long-term support of the University. The Eberly Family Foundation and the Eberly Family Charitable Trust, have supported student scholarships, the Shakespeare in the Schools program, and a chaired professorship in biotechnology. Their most recent gift will be used in conjunction with state funds to renovate Eberly Hall to support teaching and research activities of the chemistry department. Among the participants at the building rededication were Robert E. Eberly, his sister Carolyn Blaney, and Robert E. Eberly III. [http://www.pitt.edu/utimes/issues/31/091798/08.html]
Eberly Hall has served many University departments throughout its history. It housed the Department of Chemistry after being remodeled in 1937, and by 1941, the entire department was housed there until it was moved into
Chevron Science Center which sits directly in front of it. [http://mac10.umc.pitt.edu/u/FMPro?-db=ustory&-format=d.html&-lay=a&-sortfield=issueid%3a%3aissuedate&-sortorder=descend&keywords=Eberly%20Hall&-max=50&-recid=34860&-find=] Eberly Hall still houses the Chemistry library at Pitt. The hall also housed the Department of Psychology until 1946 [http://mac10.umc.pitt.edu/u/FMPro?-db=ustory&-format=d.html&-lay=a&-sortfield=issueid%3a%3aissuedate&-sortorder=descend&keywords=Eberly%20Hall&-max=50&-recid=34361&-find=] , and housed the Department of Computer Science until 2002, when the department was moved intoSennott Square . That year, Eberly Hall underwent a $1.5 million renovation to house Pitt's Center for Molecular Materials Simulations and support services fromChevron Science Center . [http://mac10.umc.pitt.edu/u/FMPro?-db=ustory&-format=d.html&-lay=a&-sortfield=issueid%3a%3aissuedate&-sortorder=descend&keywords=Eberly%20Hall&-max=50&-recid=35768&-find=]External links
* [http://www.umc.pitt.edu/tour/tour-245.html University of Pittsburgh Virtual Tour: Eberly Hall]
* [http://www.cmms.pitt.edu/index_content.html Center for Molecular and Materials Simulations]
* [http://www.library.pitt.edu/libraries/chemcomp/chem_comp.html Chemistry Library]References
*cite book | author=Alberts, Robert C. | title=Pitt: The Story of the University of Pittsburgh 1787-1987 | location=Pittsburgh | publisher=
University of Pittsburgh Press | year=1987 | id=ISBN 0-8229-1150-7
*cite book | author=Starrett, Agnes Lynch | title=Through one hundred and fifty years: the University of Pittsburgh | location=Pittsburgh | publisher=University of Pittsburgh Press | year=1937
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