Clapp Hall
Encyclopedia
George Hubbard Clapp Hall is a contributing property
to the Schenley Farms National Historic District
https://www.dot7.state.pa.us/ce_imagery/phmc_scans/H050656_01H.pdfhttp://mac10.umc.pitt.edu/u/FMPro?-db=ustory&-format=d.html&-lay=a&-sortfield=issueid%3a%3aissuedate&-sortorder=descend&keywords=bellefield%20hall&-max=50&-recid=38544&-find= on the campus of the University of Pittsburgh
in the Oakland
section of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
. The six-story Gothic Revival
structure, designed by Trautwein & Howard, was completed in 1956 and serves as the primary facility of the University of Pittsburgh Department of Biological Sciences. It contains laboratories, classrooms, a greenhouse, and an amphitheater-style lecture hall with 404 seats.
who designed the university's gothic Cathedral of Learning
, Stephen Foster Memorial
, and Heinz Memorial Chapel
.
Clapp Hall's exterior and interior spaces have been described as a mix of Collegiate Gothic and Art Deco. The building features a diagonally-positioned entrance that creates a direct axis with the Cathedral of Learning which is framed in Clapp Hall's stone portal entryway. The building is clad in textured Indiana limestone
to match the stone used on the Cathedral of Learning. The building’s use of aluminum windows has been suggested to be a quiet homage to the work of aluminum magnate George Hubbard Clapp
, the building's namesake. The lobby of Clapp Hall is streamlined Art Deco in character, with terrazzo
flooring and stainless steel
doors, and is thus more stylistically modern than its exterior which is meant to reflect the Cathedral of Learning. It has been suggested that the lobby reveals a struggle in the design process to find a balance between the traditional gothic and more contemporary design elements.
facing the Masonic Temple
, on the south side of Fifth Avenue, between the Cathedral and Heinz Memorial Chapel
. Concerns over adding more buildings to the Cathedral of Learning
lawn and impinging on the lawn's rare open space prompted a change to its current site across Fifth Avenue and effectively ended above-ground development of the Cathedral lawn space.
The 3 acres (12,140.6 m²) plot of land that Clapp Hall was constructed on was purchased for $675,000 as a gift for the university by the A.W. Mellon Educational and Charitable Trust. Ground was broken for Clapp Hall in 1954 and the building was completed in 1956. The six-story building cost $2.5 million and it was initially used only for freshman chemistry, although other sciences soon moved into the building. it is conjoined with Langley and Crawford Halls, which were added in later stages, and forms the three-building Clapp/Langley/Crawford Complex
. The triangular courtyard at the southwest entry to Clapp Hall, facing the Cathedral of Learning, was modified in 2004 to accommodate trees and benches.
The building is named for George Hubbard Clapp
(1858–1949), an alumnus (class of 1877) and president of Pitt's Board of Trustees for more than 40 years. Clapp was one of five responsible for the first commercial production of aluminum and was a founder of the Aluminum Company of America
.http://www.pitt.edu/~biohome/Dept/Frame/clapphall.htm
Contributing property
In the law regulating historic districts in the United States, a contributing resource or contributing property is any building, structure, or object which adds to the historical integrity or architectural qualities that make the historic district, listed locally or federally, significant...
to the Schenley Farms National Historic District
Historic district (United States)
In the United States, a historic district is a group of buildings, properties, or sites that have been designated by one of several entities on different levels as historically or architecturally significant. Buildings, structures, objects and sites within a historic district are normally divided...
https://www.dot7.state.pa.us/ce_imagery/phmc_scans/H050656_01H.pdfhttp://mac10.umc.pitt.edu/u/FMPro?-db=ustory&-format=d.html&-lay=a&-sortfield=issueid%3a%3aissuedate&-sortorder=descend&keywords=bellefield%20hall&-max=50&-recid=38544&-find= on the campus of the University of Pittsburgh
University of Pittsburgh
The University of Pittsburgh, commonly referred to as Pitt, is a state-related research university located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. Founded as Pittsburgh Academy in 1787 on what was then the American frontier, Pitt is one of the oldest continuously chartered institutions of...
in the Oakland
Oakland (Pittsburgh)
Oakland is the academic, cultural, and healthcare center of Pittsburgh and is Pennsylvania's third largest "Downtown". Only Center City Philadelphia and Downtown Pittsburgh can claim more economic and social activity than Oakland...
section of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
. The six-story Gothic Revival
Gothic Revival architecture
The Gothic Revival is an architectural movement that began in the 1740s in England...
structure, designed by Trautwein & Howard, was completed in 1956 and serves as the primary facility of the University of Pittsburgh Department of Biological Sciences. It contains laboratories, classrooms, a greenhouse, and an amphitheater-style lecture hall with 404 seats.
Architecture
Clapp Hall was designed by Trautwein & Howard, a successor to architectural firm of Charles KlauderCharles Klauder
Charles Zeller Klauder was an American architect best known for his work on university buildings and campus designs, especially his Cathedral of Learning at the University of Pittsburgh, the first educational skyscraper.-Biography:...
who designed the university's gothic Cathedral of Learning
Cathedral of Learning
The Cathedral of Learning, a Pittsburgh landmark listed in the National Register of Historic Places, is the centerpiece of the University of Pittsburgh's main campus in the Oakland neighborhood of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States...
, Stephen Foster Memorial
Stephen Foster Memorial
The Stephen Collins Foster Memorial is a performing arts center, museum and archive at the University of Pittsburgh in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA....
, and Heinz Memorial Chapel
Heinz Memorial Chapel
Heinz Memorial Chapel is a Pittsburgh History and Landmarks Foundation Historic Landmark and a contributing property to the Schenley Farms National Historic District on the campus of the University of Pittsburgh in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States....
.
Clapp Hall's exterior and interior spaces have been described as a mix of Collegiate Gothic and Art Deco. The building features a diagonally-positioned entrance that creates a direct axis with the Cathedral of Learning which is framed in Clapp Hall's stone portal entryway. The building is clad in textured Indiana limestone
Indiana Limestone
Indiana Limestone, also known as Bedford Limestone is a common regional term for Salem limestone, a geological formation primarily quarried in south central Indiana between Bloomington and Bedford....
to match the stone used on the Cathedral of Learning. The building’s use of aluminum windows has been suggested to be a quiet homage to the work of aluminum magnate George Hubbard Clapp
George Hubbard Clapp
George Hubbard Clapp was an American pioneer in the aluminum industry and also a numismatist.He was born on December 14 in Allegheny City, Pennsylvania, now a part of Pittsburgh, the son of Delia Dennig Hubbard and DeWitt Clinton Clapp, an iron company executive. He graduated from the Western...
, the building's namesake. The lobby of Clapp Hall is streamlined Art Deco in character, with terrazzo
Terrazzo
Terrazzo is a composite material poured in place or precast, which is used for floor and wall treatments. It consists of marble, quartz, granite, glass or other suitable chips, sprinkled or unsprinkled, and poured with a binder that is cementitious, chemical or a combination of both...
flooring and stainless steel
Stainless steel
In metallurgy, stainless steel, also known as inox steel or inox from French "inoxydable", is defined as a steel alloy with a minimum of 10.5 or 11% chromium content by mass....
doors, and is thus more stylistically modern than its exterior which is meant to reflect the Cathedral of Learning. It has been suggested that the lobby reveals a struggle in the design process to find a balance between the traditional gothic and more contemporary design elements.
History
Original plans slated Clapp Hall to be built adjacent to the Cathedral of LearningCathedral of Learning
The Cathedral of Learning, a Pittsburgh landmark listed in the National Register of Historic Places, is the centerpiece of the University of Pittsburgh's main campus in the Oakland neighborhood of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States...
facing the Masonic Temple
Alumni Hall (University of Pittsburgh)
Alumni Hall at the University of Pittsburgh is a Pittsburgh History and Landmarks Foundation Historic Landmark that was formerly known as the Masonic Temple in Pittsburgh. Constructed in 1914-1915, it was designed by renowned architect Benno Janssen of Janssen & Abbot Architects...
, on the south side of Fifth Avenue, between the Cathedral and Heinz Memorial Chapel
Heinz Memorial Chapel
Heinz Memorial Chapel is a Pittsburgh History and Landmarks Foundation Historic Landmark and a contributing property to the Schenley Farms National Historic District on the campus of the University of Pittsburgh in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States....
. Concerns over adding more buildings to the Cathedral of Learning
Cathedral of Learning
The Cathedral of Learning, a Pittsburgh landmark listed in the National Register of Historic Places, is the centerpiece of the University of Pittsburgh's main campus in the Oakland neighborhood of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States...
lawn and impinging on the lawn's rare open space prompted a change to its current site across Fifth Avenue and effectively ended above-ground development of the Cathedral lawn space.
The 3 acres (12,140.6 m²) plot of land that Clapp Hall was constructed on was purchased for $675,000 as a gift for the university by the A.W. Mellon Educational and Charitable Trust. Ground was broken for Clapp Hall in 1954 and the building was completed in 1956. The six-story building cost $2.5 million and it was initially used only for freshman chemistry, although other sciences soon moved into the building. it is conjoined with Langley and Crawford Halls, which were added in later stages, and forms the three-building Clapp/Langley/Crawford Complex
Clapp/Langley/Crawford Complex
The Clapp/Langley/Crawford halls complex , comprises three inter-connected buildings and the Life Science Annex that house the Department of Biological Science and the Department of Neuroscience at the University of Pittsburgh in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States.-Clapp Hall:George Hubbard...
. The triangular courtyard at the southwest entry to Clapp Hall, facing the Cathedral of Learning, was modified in 2004 to accommodate trees and benches.
The building is named for George Hubbard Clapp
George Hubbard Clapp
George Hubbard Clapp was an American pioneer in the aluminum industry and also a numismatist.He was born on December 14 in Allegheny City, Pennsylvania, now a part of Pittsburgh, the son of Delia Dennig Hubbard and DeWitt Clinton Clapp, an iron company executive. He graduated from the Western...
(1858–1949), an alumnus (class of 1877) and president of Pitt's Board of Trustees for more than 40 years. Clapp was one of five responsible for the first commercial production of aluminum and was a founder of the Aluminum Company of America
Alcoa
Alcoa Inc. is the world's third largest producer of aluminum, behind Rio Tinto Alcan and Rusal. From its operational headquarters in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Alcoa conducts operations in 31 countries...
.http://www.pitt.edu/~biohome/Dept/Frame/clapphall.htm