Happy birthday to you
Happy birthday to you
Happy birthday dear Penn Hall
Happy birthday to you.

Our very own Pennsylvania Hall is turning 175 years old!

Come celebrate Penn Hall’s birthday on Friday, Nov. 2 at 1:30 p.m. in the Lyceum.

The party will include cake and punch, and history Prof. Michael Birkner will speak about the College’s most recognizable and historical building.

About Pennsylvania Hall

Gettysburg College (then known as Pennsylvania College) moved into Pennsylvania Hall (then known as the College Edifice) in 1837, five years after the College’s founding. Penn Hall was built on land provided by abolitionist Thaddeus Stevens, whose illustrious career in Congress included authorship of the 14th Amendment. The American Greek Revival building's designer was architect John Cresson Trautwine.

Initially the College's lone structure, Penn Hall provided not only classrooms but also housing for students and, briefly, the College president and his family.

When the Civil War erupted, the College stood in its midst. Elements of two great armies swept through campus on July 1, 1863, the first day of the decisive Battle of Gettysburg. Union signal corps officers looked out from Penn Hall’s cupola on the Battle's first day, and Confederates later held the building, which was struck by projectiles but not significantly damaged. The building also became a hospital for hundreds of soldiers from both North and South.

Many generations of students resided in the building, which they called Old Dorm. Since the renovation of 1969-70, when the entire interior was removed and replaced, Penn Hall has housed administrative offices including those of the President and Provost.

Founded in 1832, Gettysburg College is a highly selective four-year residential college of liberal arts and sciences with a strong academic tradition. Alumni include Rhodes Scholars, a Nobel laureate, and other distinguished scholars. The college, which enrolls 2,600 undergraduate students, is located on a 200-acre campus adjacent to the Gettysburg National Military Park in Pennsylvania.

Contact: Nikki Rhoads, senior assistant director of communications, 717.337.6803