Samuel Mather Hall
From KCpedia
Samuel Mather Science Hall, which opened in September 1926, has become essential to what is known now as the Science Quad of Kenyon. Located directly across Middle Path from Ascension Hall, Sam Mather Hall contains two lecture halls, offices, and labs. Samuel Mather Science Hall is currently the home for the Psychology and Neuroscience departments at Kenyon.
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Origins
The Hall was the gift of Henry G. Dalton of Cleveland and was presented to Kenyon College in 1924. The building marked the first transition of academic buildings used exclusively for science education. Prior to the construction of Samuel Mather Hall, the science department had been housed in in the north end of Ascension Hall. The building is named after Kenyon trustee Samuel Mather, a good friend who worked alongside Henry Dalton. It was Dalton who insisted that the building be named after his friend, and he displayed a gracious act of generosity by financing the entire building, which cost a total of $350,000--the largest donation from a single party of which Kenyon had been the recipient.
The gift stemmed following a alumni gathering held at Kenyon, which concluded that a new science building would be a significant boon for the campus. The only major setback to this plan was a lack of funding. Soon after hearing about the discussion, President Peirce received a letter from Dalton, who gladly accepted the responsibility of funding the project. Dalton's only requests were that the building be named after his friend and colleague Samuel Mather, and that it be constructed by Abram Garfield.
Construction
The architect for the original construction of Samuel Mather Hall was Abram Garfield, son of U.S. President James Garfield. In addition to Sam Mather Hall, Garfield also designed and built Leonard Hall.
The building opened in September of 1926, and was followed by a dedication ceremony on October 9, 1926, led by Bishop Leonard.
Garfield found himself with the task of masterfully creating a building that could both harbor a first-rate science facility and whose exterior charm could inspire the casual observer. Thus, the interior of Sam Mather Hall is solely focused on functionality and utility, based on scientific research standards. The lecture rooms, labs, storage rooms, lighting, wiring, and office spaces were all built chiefly to serve as tools to further the science department.
Several parts of the construction of Samuel Mather Hall make it a unique building for Kenyon's science department. For example, it includes a dumb waiter, for the use of supplies, as well as a pendulum pit. The science department named the pendulum pit the "well." The "well" gave Kenyon students and professors the opportunity to conduct observations of optical work and experiments associated with ideas such as falling bodies. The constructors astutely built glass doors on both the basement and the main floor, which allow researchers to make clear and concise observations.
Location
Samuel Mather Hall was to be the first building solely devoted to housing the science department, and Abram Garfield had to take into account the location and accessibiliy of the building that already housed the department. The structure would also have to be able to adapt to whatever future development plans were made for the campus.
Before any the plans for Sam Mather Hall were made, the science department was housed in Ascension Hall, where it was fast becoming dangerous to conduct experiments--the fumes would drift through the air vents and into classrooms and faculty offices. But it made sense to construct the new building directly across from the department's old home. Additionally, the exterior structure of Samuel Mather blends in nicely with the surrounding buildings--Ascension Hall, Leonard Hall, Hanna Hall, and Old Kenyon. Its location enhanced not only the science department, but also the external look of Kenyon.
Dedication Ceremony
Kenyon held a Dedication of Samuel Mather Science Hall on October 9, 1926. The event was extravagant, and involved several addresses, a bronze tablet of dedication, a luncheon (also full of an array of speeches), the performance of hymns, and the reading of a number of letters of congratulations. The ceremony began at 11am and continued until 8pm that night. The event also provided an opportunity for the donor, Henry Dalton and the building's dedicatee, Samuel Mather, to walk down Middle Path in a procession that allowed the Kenyon community to show their thanks.
The event was such a high-profile event for the college that it included a specially chartered train from Cleveland, which was entirely full of guests who attended the Gambier ceremony. This drew attention from several newspapers, and the event was covered by journalists from around the state.
Renovations
After being opened and in use for quite some time, it became obvious in 1956 that, despite its beautiful external appearance and its accessibility for students, Samuel Mather Hall's internal structure was not able to fully fulfill the science department's needs. Thus, plans were crafted to begin renovations on the Hall. The College initially considered the possibilities of using the building as a residence hall, library, or other classroom facility; however, they eventually concluded that they would instead build an additional building to house the neccessities that Samuel Mather Hall lacked. This additional building was called Philip Mather Science Hall, and it was completed in 1962. The chemistry department moved into Philip Mather Hall. However, some were disappointed with the move, as they considered Philip Mather Hall to be significantly less attractive than its counterpart.
In 1968-1969, construction began on yet another science facility (initially called the Biology Building, now known as Higley Hall) that would become the home of the biology department of the College. It was at this time that Samuel Mather began to be renovated, at the cost of $650,000. After the construction of Higley Hall and the completed renovations of Samuel Mather, the buildings were at last used as they are today: Higley as the home to biology and Samuel Mather home to physics and psychology.
After undergoing some additional renovations, Samuel Mather Hall reopened in January of 2002.
Uses
Upon its opening in 1926, the building was used to teach the academic subjects of biology, chemistry, and physics. Upon its renovation, the building soon became home for classrooms, lecture halls, laboratories, and faculty offices.
Samuel Mather is now the home of the neuroscience and psychology departments. It houses two lecture halls, two classrooms, two seminar or conference rooms, three teaching labs, five faculty-student research labs, one computer lab for teaching, one computer lab for student work, one library, one study area/lounge, and testing rooms.
Resources in the Kenyon College Archives
Samuel Mather Science Hall -- collected materials
