Waller Hall

Back in the 1850s, the university desperately needed space because their original building was quite literally falling apart. Enter Reverend Alvin F. Waller, a relentless Methodist missionary who spearheaded a massive fundraising campaign. To construct this Renaissance style structure, an architectural design known for its classical Roman symmetry and proportion, the builders ordered half a million bricks. In a very clever bit of pioneer engineering, they fired all those bricks right here on campus, using the clay excavated to create the building's basement. The total cost came to forty thousand dollars, which is roughly eight hundred thousand dollars today. At five stories high, it dominated the sparsely settled landscape. It housed classrooms, a library, and chapels, while the attic served as makeshift housing for male students. But maintaining a wooden-framed, brick-clad building in the nineteenth century was a risky business. As we mentioned at the library, Waller Hall caught fire twice. The first time was in September 1891, just eight days into the fall term. Crowds of Salem residents gathered in their nineteenth-century attire to watch smoke billow from the roof, while a meager collection of salvaged chairs sat scattered on the lawn below. The top two floors and the roof were utterly destroyed. The university's strict new president, George Whitaker, was bizarrely unfazed. He proudly reported to the board that the inferno caused a mere two and a half hours of delay to school work. His biggest complaint was the expense of bailing rainwater out of the roofless building. They rebuilt the hall, but the threat of fire was far from over. As we know, in December 1919, that second blaze broke out. This time, the devastation was exacerbated by brutal weather. A massive storm had dumped twenty two inches of snow, and temperatures had plummeted to six degrees below zero. Firefighters arrived only to find their hoses and the city hydrants frozen completely solid. They were forced to stand by helplessly as flames completely consumed the interior. And yet, the building still stands. Gutted not once, but twice, those original campus-fired exterior brick walls refused to fall. The university simply raised more money, completely rebuilt the interior for a second time, and restored the original cupola design. Today, the hall houses administrative offices and a beautiful chapel featuring a custom pipe organ. The building is generally open Monday through Friday from eight in the morning until five in the evening if you want to take a peek inside.