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West Hall (Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute)
Encyclopedia
West Hall is a building on the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
campus in Troy
, New York
, United States
. It is currently home to the Arts Department at RPI. It was previously a hospital, and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places
as Old Troy Hospital.
A plaque on the southwest corner of West Hall reads as follows: "The Corner Stone of the Troy Hospital was laid on the 28th of June 1868 by the right Rev. Bishop Conroy". The hospital was opened in 1869 and was operated by the Sisters of Charity of Saint Vincent de Paul. The design of the building is due to Marcus F. Cummings of Troy and noted as a major example of French Second Empire architecture. The Sisters of Charity sold the building to the Albany Diocese in 1922 and it was converted to be used as a Catholic High School in 1923. Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute acquired the building in 1953 and named it West Hall, as it was one of the western most buildings on campus. Following a complete renovation, the School of Humanities and Social Sciences and the Department of Geology occupied the building. A geology museum was housed there at one time, the remnants of which can still be seen in parts of the basement.
West Hall currently houses several offices, art studios, and the Rensselaer Music Association (RMA). There is a large auditorium for performances and a few music practice rooms. 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 where constructed traversing the hill on the north side, as well as more robust concrete retaining walls.
There is interesting folklore surrounding the construction of "cables" to stabilize the building on the shifting hill. These cables supposedly were put in place to anchor the building's foundations to an outcropping of bedrock near Walker Labs. According to Thomas Zimmie PhD, PE, D.GE, a professor in the Civil & Environmental Engineering Department of RPI, this kind of myth comes about worldwide. According to him, "There are no cables holding West Hall...There are slope problems on campus, but nothing that can't be fixed." Wihle Professor Zimmie acknowledges that a problem will eventually occur, he says "It will probably take at least a few thousand years."
in the “Grant Style” after the president. The hospital was intended 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, but over the years it developed private rooms for the more affluent members of the Troy community to have respite. A service offered in 1905 worth noting was the availability of horse drawn ambulances. During West Hall’s tenure as Catholic Central High School it acquired many of the classroom structures we see today, including the separated entrances for the sexes. Visible still to this day are the southernmost entrance labeled “Boys” and the northernmost entrance labelled “Girls”.
Classes began in 1923, but not in the intended building. Delays caused classes to be held at St. Peter's Lyceum until early 1924. Reverend Edmund J. Burns, a Troy native, was appointed principal of the new school. Between 1943, CCHS saw notable growth, increasing from 525 in 1923 to 1323 in 1943.
hunters visited the building in 2006.
According to legend, Nurse Betsy cared for the patients in the psychiatric ward of the old Troy Hospital. She was very musically talented and often played the piano to calm the screams and whining of her patients. She was very well known in the hospital, serving as a nurse until her tragic and unfortunate death. As legend goes, there was a fire in the psychiatric ward when Betsy was working. In her heroism, she attempted to save the lives of her patients. Unfortunately, she and many of her patients were not able to escape the flames and died entrapped in the psychiatric ward where legend has it they remain to this day. Many times late at night you can hear the sounds of Nurse Betsy’s footsteps as she walks from room to room checking in on her patients. Some have even heard her patients screaming or whining, doors flying shut, loud thumping noises and if you listen closely…the faint sound of piano coming from the psychiatric ward in the basement of the old Troy Hospital.
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
Stephen Van Rensselaer established the Rensselaer School on November 5, 1824 with a letter to the Rev. Dr. Samuel Blatchford, in which van Rensselaer asked Blatchford to serve as the first president. Within the letter he set down several orders of business. He appointed Amos Eaton as the school's...
campus in Troy
Troy, New York
Troy is a city in the US State of New York and the seat of Rensselaer County. Troy is located on the western edge of Rensselaer County and on the eastern bank of the Hudson River. Troy has close ties to the nearby cities of Albany and Schenectady, forming a region popularly called the Capital...
, New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. It is currently home to the Arts Department at RPI. It was previously a hospital, and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
as Old Troy Hospital.
A plaque on the southwest corner of West Hall reads as follows: "The Corner Stone of the Troy Hospital was laid on the 28th of June 1868 by the right Rev. Bishop Conroy". The hospital was opened in 1869 and was operated by the Sisters of Charity of Saint Vincent de Paul. The design of the building is due to Marcus F. Cummings of Troy and noted as a major example of French Second Empire architecture. The Sisters of Charity sold the building to the Albany Diocese in 1922 and it was converted to be used as a Catholic High School in 1923. Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute acquired the building in 1953 and named it West Hall, as it was one of the western most buildings on campus. Following a complete renovation, the School of Humanities and Social Sciences and the Department of Geology occupied the building. A geology museum was housed there at one time, the remnants of which can still be seen in parts of the basement.
West Hall currently houses several offices, art studios, and the Rensselaer Music Association (RMA). There is a large auditorium for performances and a few music practice rooms. 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 where constructed traversing the hill on the north side, as well as more robust concrete retaining walls.
There is interesting folklore surrounding the construction of "cables" to stabilize the building on the shifting hill. These cables supposedly were put in place to anchor the building's foundations to an outcropping of bedrock near Walker Labs. According to Thomas Zimmie PhD, PE, D.GE, a professor in the Civil & Environmental Engineering Department of RPI, this kind of myth comes about worldwide. According to him, "There are no cables holding West Hall...There are slope problems on campus, but nothing that can't be fixed." Wihle Professor Zimmie acknowledges that a problem will eventually occur, he says "It will probably take at least a few thousand years."
Troy Hospital
Originally built as Troy Hospital, the building opened in Fall 1871 and remained in operation until 1913. 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”. The more recent building was designed by Marcus F. CummingsMarcus F. Cummings
Marcus F. Cummings was an American architect active in the Capital District region of the U.S. state of New York. Born in Utica, he later established his practice in the city of Troy, where many of his buildings are located in the Central Troy Historic District and listed on the National Register...
in the “Grant Style” after the president. The hospital was intended 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, but over the years it developed private rooms for the more affluent members of the Troy community to have respite. A service offered in 1905 worth noting was the availability of horse drawn ambulances. During West Hall’s tenure as Catholic Central High School it acquired many of the classroom structures we see today, including the separated entrances for the sexes. Visible still to this day are the southernmost entrance labeled “Boys” and the northernmost entrance labelled “Girls”.
Catholic Central High School
Between 1913 and 1923 the building languished and was not in use. In the spring of 1923, Bishop Gibbons of the Albany Catholic Diocese began a movement to raise capital to transform the old Troy Hospital into a Catholic Central High School. A total of $250,000 was raised and a reconstruction plan of the building was implemented. The Diocese added an auditorium, gymnasium, cafeteria.Classes began in 1923, but not in the intended building. Delays caused classes to be held at St. Peter's Lyceum until early 1924. Reverend Edmund J. Burns, a Troy native, was appointed principal of the new school. Between 1943, CCHS saw notable growth, increasing from 525 in 1923 to 1323 in 1943.
Ghosts
Some believe the building is haunted, and ghostGhost
In traditional belief and fiction, a ghost is the soul or spirit of a deceased person or animal that can appear, in visible form or other manifestation, to the living. Descriptions of the apparition of ghosts vary widely from an invisible presence to translucent or barely visible wispy shapes, to...
hunters visited the building in 2006.
According to legend, Nurse Betsy cared for the patients in the psychiatric ward of the old Troy Hospital. She was very musically talented and often played the piano to calm the screams and whining of her patients. She was very well known in the hospital, serving as a nurse until her tragic and unfortunate death. As legend goes, there was a fire in the psychiatric ward when Betsy was working. In her heroism, she attempted to save the lives of her patients. Unfortunately, she and many of her patients were not able to escape the flames and died entrapped in the psychiatric ward where legend has it they remain to this day. Many times late at night you can hear the sounds of Nurse Betsy’s footsteps as she walks from room to room checking in on her patients. Some have even heard her patients screaming or whining, doors flying shut, loud thumping noises and if you listen closely…the faint sound of piano coming from the psychiatric ward in the basement of the old Troy Hospital.