Ladies' Hall / Fairchild Hall, Berea College, Chestnut and South Main Street, Berea, Kentucky
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| City/locality- State/province |
Berea, Kentucky |
| County- State/province: |
Madison County, Kentucky |
| State/province: | Kentucky |
| Country: | United States |
The first brick building on campus, Fairchild Hall was known as Ladies’ Hall from 1873 until 1937. Named for E. Henry Fairchild (1815-1889), the first president of Berea College (1869-1889) and an alumnus of Oberlin College in Ohio, this residence hall features essentially the same design as that of Ladies’ Hall at Oberlin. Eclecticism is expressed I the combination of Second Empire and Italiante styles. Architects were Cady, Bergh, and See of New York City. (See MAB-71)
Although it no longer stands isolated in the surrounding forests, the exterior of the three-story brick building appears much as it did initially. Roof crestings, a bracketed cornice, segmental hood molds over the windows, and a porthole dormer centered over the entrance add emphasis to the overall design. Each of the end projecting units contains a gabled dormer. A two-story gallery, originally with wooden spindle railing which has been replaced with iron, spans the width of the recessed five-bay central block. A raised basement that once housed a dining room produces a contrast between the brick structural fabric and its stone foundation material.
