Founder’s Hall

Founder’s Hall Architecture

Content Courtesy of Girard College

Founder’s Hall at Girard College (built 1833-1847) is often considered the finest example of Greek revival architecture in the U.S. The original (deceased) client for the building was Stephen Girard (1750-1831), the school’s founder, who specified in his will the dimensions and plan of the building. The living client was Nicholas Biddle (1786-1844), chair of the school’s building committee and president of the Second Bank of the United States in Philadelphia.

Members of the city government held an architectural competition to award the job of designing Girard’s school. His two million-dollar construction budget ensured that the 1832 competition was the first American architectural competition to have truly national participation. The winning architect was Thomas Ustick Walter (1804-1887). After the long, difficult job at Girard, Walter went on to design the dome of the United State Capitol in Washington, D.C. He later returned to Philadelphia to serve as an assistant architect on City Hall. He became a founding member of the American Institute of Architects (AIA). Some Girard College visitors come only because they want to see a great, early T.U. Walter building.

Founder’s Hall was the school’s original classroom building. It has three main floors, each measuring 14,000 square feet. The plan for each floor, as specified in Girard’s will, consists of a 100′ x 20′ front hall, then four 50′-square rooms with 25′ tall ceilings arranged two by two, and a back hall the same size as the front. The scale of the spaces was dazzlingly large when the building first opened, and Founder’s Hall was one of Philadelphia’s great 19th-century tourist destinations.

Two final points: 1) Nicholas Biddle was so happy with T. U. Walter’s work at Girard that in 1834 he hired Walter to convert the Biddle country home, “Andalusia” in Bucks County, Pa., from a large Pennsylvania farmhouse to what is often considered the finest example of domestic Greek revival architecture in America. 2) When Founder’s Hall was finally completed in 1847, it was the second-most expensive building in the U.S., second only to the United States Capitol!