| OCR Text |
Show Students gather around the stairs and entrance of Ferry Hall. The photo has been taken from a southwest angle. Two rows are positioned on the grass in the foreground. The first row sits, while the second stands. At the left of the front row is Westminster's then President Herbert Ware Reherd in one of his many hats. To the right of them, a group of men sit on a railing. More students cluster on the stairs immediately behind them, some standing up in line on each of the three tiers of the stone wall alongside the stairs. In the distance, there is Converse Hall to the far left, and beyond it part of the Wasatch Mountains is visible. The background is mostly composed of sky. |
| Further Information |
The photo is in good condition. The top corners and the bottom left corner are a little bent. There is a white border around the photo. On the back, "1920-21" is written in pencil, and there is a purplish stamp that reads, "UTAH PHOTO MATERIALS CO., Commercial Photographers, 366 So. Main St. -- Salt Lake Ci[…]". Ferry Hall began construction on October 10, 1907 and was finished two years later due to lack of funding. The hall bore the name of Colonel William and Jeannette Ferry, Park City residents who contributed $15,000 of the $25,000 needed to erect the hall. The Ferry's were also a crucial factor in securing the land (in 1901) that Westminster College calls home today. Ferry Hall was originally built to be a women's dormitory; however, it served many functions throughout the years such as cafeteria, classrooms, administration offices, and terminal room for the computer center. Ferry Hall would suffer a sad fate in 1982 when the public building inspector condemned the hall as being unfit for public use. After the verdict the hall was used for storage until plans were made to build the Gore School of Business in its place. Ferry Hall was demolished in October of 1987. To commemorate the memory of the Ferry's philanthropic contributions to the school, Ferry plaza was erected in front of Converse Hall using some of the original foundation blocks of Ferry Hall. For more information and sources concerning the history of Foster Hall consult the following source: Brackenridge, R. Douglas. Westminster College of Salt Lake City. Logan Utah: Utah State University Press, 1998, pp. 115, 117-120, 132, 136, 140, 144-1446, 176, 180, 185, 225, 235 Etosian. Salt Lake City: Westminster College, 1982. Vol. 64 Pg. 44-45 Converse Hall was the first permanent structure to be built on the present campus of Westminster College (Salt Lake City, Utah); it has also been the most enduring. The hall was constructed from August 1907 to July 1907 thanks to a generous donation to Westminster College's then building program fund from John Converse, a wealthy Presbyterian businessman whom was president of the Baldwin Locomotive Works in Philadelphia. After completion, Converse Hall sat vacant due to lack of funding to supply a heating plant and adequate boarding for current and potential students. It was during his time that the college endured one of the many financial hardships in its tumultuous history. While the newly built hall sat vacant it suffered a number of vandalisms and break-ins. Thieves broke windows, transoms, and stole or destroyed priceless artifacts from co-founder Sheldon Jackson's collection. As the college secured funds to continue operation, Converse Hall, along with Ferry Hall completed in October 1907, served as a basic operation site for classes, library, chemistry lab, assembly hall, boy's dormitory, and administration offices. In 1926 the hall was renovated after a devastating fire broke out which caused the top two floors to collapse upon one another. Another milestone came about when Converse Hall was signified as a Utah Historic Sight in July 1978. For more information and sources concerning the history of Converse Hall consult the following source: Brackenridge, Douglas R. Westminster College of Salt Lake City. Logan, Utah: Utah State University Press, 1998, pp. 115, 117, 119-120, 131, 136, 140-141, 144, 146, 151, 177, 195, 206. |
