New book explores Alexander Hall’s 111-year past.
By: David Campbell
Princeton University’s Alexander Hall, the lecture and performance hall on campus distinguished by its elaborate Romanesque Revival façade with imposing Tiffany quatrefoil window, is now the subject of a new book published by the university.
The book’s title is "Alexander Hall, Home of Richardson Auditorium: A Chronicle of Alexander Hall’s Significance in the Development of the Princeton University Campus."
Its author is William K. Selden, a 1934 Princeton graduate who tells the story of the building’s contribution to the architectural evolution of the campus and to the cultural and intellectual life of Princeton.
The slim but beautifully illustrated 44-page soft-cover book has been published by Princeton’s communications office.
It opens with a description of the physical growth of the campus during the presidency of James McCosh in the late 1800s. It ends with some observations about the interior restoration that the hall’s Richardson Auditorium underwent last summer.
In between, there are plenty of interesting stories and facts to hold the interest of committed fans of Princetoniana as well as anyone with a passing interest in one of the most striking architectural works on campus.
The hall originally was built to house the annual graduation ceremonies when the university population outgrew the Presbyterian Church, where the ceremonies used to be held.
The hall was funded with a $350,000 gift in 1890 from Harriet Crocker Alexander, wife of Charles Beatty Alexander, a member of the Class of 1870. She was the daughter of Charles Crocker, who was one of the "Big Four" of the Central Pacific Railroad.
The construction of Alexander Hall began in 1891 and lasted three years. The building officially was dedicated in June 1894. Its architect was William Potter, who was also the architect for Chancellor Green and East Pyne Hall. The graduation exercises for Princeton’s Class of 1894 were held in Alexander Hall a few days after the building’s June dedication.
One story about the origins of the hall’s design holds that it started out as a failed senior thesis project by an architecture student who later donated money for the construction. But as Mr. Selden points out in his book, the tale, while colorful, is apocryphal. Mr. Potter’s design was in fact in the Richardson Romanesque style of American architect Henry Hobson Richardson, who designed Trinity Church in Boston.
Alexander Hall’s bas-relief sculpture was designed by J.A. Bolger and undertaken by J. Massey Rhind. It depicts allegorical representations of the arts and sciences, paying tribute to Learning, the central seated figure in the design.
To his left stands Oratory, Theology, Law, History, Philosophy and Ethics. To his right are Architecture, Sculpture, Painting, Poetry, Music and Belles-lettres. The large figures in the upper left and right panels are Moses and Christ.
The first public lecture held in Alexander Hall was given in November 1894 by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, the English author of the Sherlock Holmes detective stories.
The hall has hosted speeches by prominent individuals like Albert Einstein, who delivered a series of five lectures there on his general theory of relativity in 1921.
The building’s first big event was the sesquicentennial celebration of Princeton in 1896. It was the site of the speech, "Princeton in the Nation’s Service," by Woodrow Wilson, who then was a professor at the university. The title of Wilson’s speech subsequently became the informal motto of the university.
From its earliest days, Alexander Hall has served as a concert hall for music of all kinds, including performances by a cappella choirs, glee clubs, jazz ensembles, chamber ensembles and symphonic orchestras.
Richardson Auditorium was built thanks to David A. Richardson of the Class of 1966. He donated $2 million for needed renovations of the hall’s interior. The auditorium was named in the memory of his father, David B. Richardson, who reportedly was fond of classical music.
By the 1980s, nearly a century after construction, the interior was in dire need of rehabilitation. With Mr. Richardson’s gift, the auditorium facilities were modernized and expanded. The architect was James Grieves.
The dedication ceremony for Richardson Auditorium was held in April 1984.
Mr. Selden’s book is available for $12 through the university’s Office of Communications, which is located at 22 Chambers St. in downtown Princeton Borough.
After graduating from Princeton in 1934, Mr. Selden served in the administration of four universities, including Princeton; was president of Illinois College in Jacksonville, Ill.; and was executive director of the National Commission on Accrediting. He was a member of the Princeton Borough Council in the late 1970s. In recent years, he has written several histories of Princeton institutions.
Mr. Selden said he now is finishing a book on the chapels of Princeton. He lives in Pennsylvania, but commutes to campus several days each week to conduct research, he said.