Hall of Languages, Syracuse University

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Hall of Languages, Syracuse University

- The Hall of Languages is the first building on Syracuse University’s campus. It was designed by Horatio Nelson White in the Second Empire style and built between 1871 and 1873.
- It originally housed the whole university. The cornerstone was laid on August 31, 1871, by Jesse Truesdell Peck, and the building was dedicated on May 8, 1873, by Edmund S. James, then Bishop.
- The design is modeled after the Gridley Building in downtown Syracuse, another White design. The hall has three towers (cupolas) and is built with Onondaga limestone, a wood frame, and interior cast-iron columns. The east and west towers were completed first; the central tower was added in 1886.
- It initially housed the College of Liberal Arts (now defunct) and later the College of Arts and Sciences.
- The Hall of Languages was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1973, and its interior was rebuilt in 1978–79.
- The building is a well-known symbol of the university and has appeared in pop culture, including inspiring the Addams Family home on a TV show. In 2010, Syracuse men’s basketball jerseys featured an image of the Hall of Languages.