Ambrose Hall (Additional Documentation)

About this property

Ambrose Hall, located in Davenport, Iowa, United States, is the first building constructed on the campus of St. Ambrose University. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1977. St. Ambrose University was founded in 1882 by John McMullen, the first bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Davenport. The school initially held classes in two classrooms in the school building at St. Margaret's Cathedral. The desire, however, was for the school to have a campus and a building of its own. The school was formally incorporated as a "seminary" in 1885, however, its mission was never exclusively considered as a place that trained future priests. Instead, it was considered a "Catholic school for advanced studies". Courses were taught in the humanities, sciences and in business as well as theology. The school, in a sense, pioneered the concept of educating future priests and allowing them to reside with young men who they might serve one day as their parish priests. It was typical at that time to cloister seminarians at an early age away and educating them separately from other people. The institution's name was changed to St. Ambrose College in 1908 and St. Ambrose University in 1987. Bishop Henry Cosgrove, McMullen's successor, initially chose the corner of Eighth and Ripley Streets as the new location for the school, as it would be convenient for the day students. However, others suggested Noel's Grove along Locust Street as a possible location. Cosgrove was familiar with the location as he had held parish picnics at the location when he was the pastor at St. Margaret's. He was concerned that the location was too isolated and inaccessible, and Locust Street was not a decent roadway. In the end, convinced that the location was accessible by way of the Brady Streetcar line, Cosgrove bought Noel's Grove. The cost for purchasing the property and building the central section of the building amounted to $20,000. Aloysius Schulte, the college president, and James Davis, the cathedral rector, toured the diocese to solicit funds for the project. Victor Huot was chosen as the architect for a new building. Previously he had designed St. Joseph's and St. Mary's churches and Mercy Hospital; all in Davenport. He also designed the building for the Immaculate Conception Academy in Davenport. Both Ambrose Hall and the academy building were designed in the Second Empire style, and they were designed so they could be built in stages over a period of time. Huot designed the first two additions to the building at the same time he designed the original tower section. The cornerstone for the building was laid on July 5, 1885. The central section of Ambrose Hall, with the entrance tower and spire, was the first section built. It had space for 75 boarding students as well as office space and classrooms. The Congregation of the Humility of Mary was placed in charge of the dining room, cooking, and housekeeping. The structure was expanded in 1887, 1893, 1901, 1908, and 1912. The building is constructed of yellow stone and red brick with marble and stone trim. A mansard roof, typical of the Second Empire style, rings the structure on all its additions. The building housed the entire school until 1927 when Davis Hall was built.

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Property data from the National Register of Historic Places, National Park Service (public domain).

Description adapted from Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

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