Formerly known as North Hall, the renovated building is
one of Albion's oldest. North Hall was ready for students in the fall of
1852.
The building contained three recitation rooms and a
laboratory on the lower floor; an expanded science center; a new art
department on the second floor, as well as quarters for students and
faculty and two music rooms; the third floor provided most of the student
rooms and three music practice rooms with pianos. The living quarters were
heated with wood stoves, which eventually caused disaster to strike a year
later when a fire broke out and the Hall burned to the ground. (Fennimore,
p.123)
Thanks to the insurance settlement, the College was able
to rebuild North Hall. The new building looked like the old North Hall
from the outside and within housed a science lab and clasrooms on the
ground level, an enlarged art department on the second floor, and the
third floor was a large hall that extended the full length of the
building, led to by a spiral stair in the middle of the building. This
space was used as for chapel and public town meetings. Later, after 1870,
the third floor was split into two rooms: the north room was headquarters
for the Eclectic and Atheniades Societies (aka, Ticks), while the south
room was used by the Clever Girls and Clever Boys (aka, Erosophian
Society). (Fennimore, p.125)
In February of 1923, North Hall was struck again by fire;
and this time it was believed to be arson. No one was ever indicted for
the incident, though the pool of suspects was small. The cost of the
damage done totalled $10,000. (Fennimore, p.472)
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This classroom
and faculty office building is named for former president and first
lady, Melvin and Nan Vulgamore.
