West Hall

Introduction

West Hall is a building on the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute campus in Troy, New York. It is currently home to the Arts Department at RPI. But the buildings history shows far more than this. Building in 1868 as the Troy Hospital. The structure was later used as a Catholic High School. The Building is now listed on the National Register of Historic Places as the Old Troy Hospital.

Old Troy Hospital

The hospital opened in 1869 and was operated by the Sisters of Charity of St. Vincent de Paul. The design of the building has been attributed to Marcus F. Cummings of Troy and noted as a major example of French Second Empire architecture. At the end of the Civil War, the growth of Troy and two fires at the old hospital site resulted in plans for a new and larger hospital. The new Old Troy Hospital as it is known today was completed in the fall of 1871. This renovation was very big during the time and attracted young and eager physicians to the upgraded facility that was thought to be on the leading edge of health care in the U.S. As a hospital, the building was the second site of Troy Hospital founded by Daughters of Charity in 1850, and the new building was at a higher elevation to increase "natural ventilation". This hospital was the first full-service hospital outside of New York City. This hospital had big expectations and was huge for the city of Troy. It gave a sense of hope in the community and promised its intentions to treat "the poor and indigent of the city", the industrial workers, and Irish Catholic immigrants whom the Catholic priests would not visit because of their residence in almshouses and orphanages. However, over the years it developed private rooms for the more affluent members of the Troy community to have a higher-quality stay. In 1895, the hospital continued it's growth and added a “special operating room suite” and began a nursing school. The hospital attracted several physicians of note. Dr. John Thorn was the first appointed physician. Thorn trained in England and was one of early Troy’s most famous residents. He was elected mayor of Troy not once but two times. In 1905, they offered the service of having horse-drawn ambulances be available, one of the first hospitals in the area to do so.

Catholic Central High School

The Sisters of Charity sold the former hospital to the Albany Diocese in 1922 and it was converted for use as the Catholic High School in the spring of 1923. The Albany Catholic Diocese began a movement to raise capital to transform the hospital into the high school and a total of $250,000 was raised. A reconstruction plan of the building was implemented, including an auditorium, gymnasium, and cafeteria which still exist today. Classes began in 1923, but not in the intended building. Delays caused classes to be held at St. Peter's Lyceum until early 1924. The first principal at the new school was Father Burns and the student body numbered 525 students. The first class graduated in June of 1924 with 32 students. The school grew very quickly and when the doors reopened in September of 1924, there were 1,046 students registered in the high school. Eventually, in 1953, Catholic Central purchased the Cluett Peabody & Company building, which had been used for experimental purposes in the field of textile research as a miniature textile mill and in September of that year, Catholic Central High School was relocated to its present-day campus at 116th Street and Seventh Avenue in North Troy. The original Catholic Central High School building on Eight St. has now become part of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.

West Hall Today

After the relocation of the school, Rensselaer acquired the building in 1953 and named it West Hall, as it was the western most structure on the campus. After many renovations to convert this old high school into a university academic building, the School of Humanities and Social Sciences and the Department of Geology occupied the building. A geology museum was added, and the auditorium and cafeteria were also housed there from the old high school. The old auditorium is still used for performances and a few music practice rooms. In 1991 the penthouse was removed from the top of what is todays roofline. Between 2004 and 2008 there was a major renovation of the exterior, which was made in part by a $150,000 Campus Heritage Initiative Grant. The building was completely repainted and detailed, and the front steps were re-landscaped. Between 2008-2009 new stairs were constructed traversing the hill on the north side, as well as more robust concrete retaining walls. You can still see the history of the building as many of the classroom structures we see today are still in existence, including the separate entrances for the sexes. You can still see the southernmost entrances labeled "Boys" and the northernmost entrances labeled as "Girls".

References

[1] https://archives.rpi.edu/institute-history/building-histories/west-hall

[2] https://maps.roadtrippers.com/us/troy-ny/points-of-interest/old-troy-hospital

[3] https://cdm16694.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/collection/p16694coll33/id/83