Robert A. Domingue
Phillips Academy, Andover Massachusetts

2. Aerial View of Andover Hilltop --- 1928

 

CHAPTER II

ACADEMY "MAIN" BUILDINGS

There have been six "Main Buildings" at Phillips Academy and being the primary recitation/classroom building, they have always been the focal point of the educational aspects of the institution. Their relative percentage of the total assets of the school, however, has changed throughout history. The first "Main Building" was not only the sole classroom/instruction building, it was the only edifice owned and operated by the Academy for student use. On the other extreme, today's "Main Building", Samuel Phillips Hall, is but one of six edifices used for classroom/instruction purposes and another multitude of residence halls and activity facilities. They have ranged in size from a single room building to one containing 28 recitation and examination rooms; from 700 square feet of instruction area to 27,000 square feet. The Academy has managed to keep the matter of education at the forefront of its priorities and has upgraded its facilities accordingly.

 

THE FIRST --- THE CARPENTER'S SHOP
(1778-1786)

The first classroom building had been built prior to the founding of the Academy and was a joiner's shop on the estate of Solomon Wardwell. Part of the real estate purchase from Mr. Waldwell, this building became the property of the Trustees-to-be on January 24, 1777.

Prior to the opening of school fifteen months later, the building was moved to the corner of "the old road to the meeting house" (Main and School Streets since Main Street did not go through to the center of town until after the turn of the century) and the lane which has since been named Phillips Street. This site was part of the land purchased from the estate of the late George Abbot on March 1, 1777, and is the present location of the Archaeological Building.

No contemporary drawing of this building appears to have survived the years of time but its rough form is recorded in Ralph Robin Naizot's sketch of Andover Hill in 1778 that has been considered tradition; this illustration was presented in the previous chapter.

The one story building, 35 feet by 20 feet, was made of rough, unpainted boards and ornamented on the exterior by the presence of a brick chimney. The building was fitted up "temporarily" for use as a school for no more than 30 or 40 scholars. Some rude benches were installed but there was little more in the way of furniture.

This first classroom was formally opened on the morning of April 30, 1778, with 13 pupils under the tutelage of Eliphalet Pearson; the dedicatory sermon was aptly delivered by Rev. Jonathan French. By the end of the year attendance had grown to 51 students, pushing the capacity of the facility. This growth undoubtedly served as the nucleus of thought for a new classroom building but it did not materialize until the 1785/6 school year. In the meantime, the first classroom building continued to perform its intended function and served as the training grounds for several scholars.

A model of this joiner's or carpenter's shop was constructed from the scanty descriptions available and the traditional sketch for use as a float during the Centennial parade of 1878.

3. Model of Original Schoolhouse

After the second "Main Building" was built and occupied in 1786, the first classroom served first as a singing-room and then later as a storehouse for rags.

It was sold after the turn of the century to Abbot Walker for $30.00. He moved it to a farm about a half mile to the east and converted it into a workshop. The stove and funnel which had heated the building were sold in 1802 for $7.37. The relocated building was torn down about 1873 to make room for a more commodious building.

The site of the first classroom building is marked by a bronze tablet mounted to the front wall of the Archaeological Building. This tablet was unveiled during the first Founder's Day exercises on October 11, 1913.

4. Memorial Tablet

 

THE SECOND --- THE SECOND CLASSROOM
(1786-1818)

Formal planning for the second classroom dates back to the early 1780's; in 1783 a committee was formed to draw up specifications for it. Completed on January 30, 1786, at a cost of just over $3,000, it was erected at the corner of the turnpike and goose lane (now Main and Salem Streets), slightly to the west of where Brechin Hall was located and about where the Armilary Sphere now stands.

The two story edifice accommodated 100 students in the recitation rooms and a study room on the lower floor. A spacious hall for exhibitions and other public purposes was located on the second floor. The overall building dimensions were 64 feet, 8 inches long and 33 feet, 4 inches broad and the length of the classroom contained therein was 36 feet. The lower floor was 12 feet high while the second floor had 11 foot ceilings. The main entrance opened to Main Street on the west side of the building and a rear door was located on the opposite side. A cupola on top contained the school bell.

Interior modifications were made in 1799 in which new seats were built and the aisle configuration changed; the stove was also repaired. A covered porch was placed at the rear entrance on the east side of the building in 1802 and a receptacle for ashes was provided in the cellar five years later. Principal Mark Newman had started a school library about 1796 and in 1805 it was placed in an alcove and shelves were put up on the north side of the building. Although it was but a modest start, Samuel Farrar was appointed the official Librarian.

By the mid to late 1810's, this classroom facility became inadequate to the requirements of the school. The urgent need for its replacement was definitized on the evening of January 30, 1818 --- exactly thirty two years after its completion --- when it was destroyed by fire. Being entirely of wood, it only took twenty minutes to be reduced to ashes.

From the burning of this second classroom building to the completion of the Brick Academy, classes were held in Judge Phillips' store/farmhouse located at the corner of Main and Phillips Sts.

5. Mansion House and Academy about 1790

As was the case with the first classroom, no contemporary, definitive sketch or picture of this second classroom has survived. A drawing of Andover Hill in 1786, looking north, does show the second classroom as well as the Mansion House. The relative barren nature of the Hill can be seen but, in contrast to the sketch of 1778 shown previously, it appears that significant landscaping efforts have taken place.

 

THE THIRD --- THE BRICK ACADEMY
(1818-1830)

Construction of the third classroom commenced in the summer of 1818. Under the superintendence of Samuel Farrar, it was completed before the year was out.

The net cost of the building was $13,252 of which $5,000 was contributed by His Honor, Lt. Gov. William Phillips of Boston, a Trustee of the Academy, and $3,683 by President Kirkland of Harvard. It was placed directly in line with the Seminary buildings, on a knoll to the south.

There has been quite a bit of discussion over the years as to whether or not Charles Bulfinch was actually the architect of this building which now bears his name.

One of the contributors to the building, Lieutenant-Governor William Phillips, was a friend of Bulfinch and had secured his services for the design of Bartlet Chapel the previous year. Further, the Academy Day Book has an entry on April 10, 1819: "Paid Charles Bulfinch for Hardware, $23.18. Paid Charles Bulfinch for Hinges $1." It is inconceivable that money for these articles should have been paid to Bulfinch at this late date if he had not been the architect for the Academy Building. His expressive language is clearly noticed in the form, lines and style of the building leading one to believe he was the architect; the facts stated above tend to prove that link.

6. The Brick Academy

The entrance to the building was on the north side. Upon entering this door, one noted two recitation rooms to the right and left of the corridor and then progressed into the main school room. On either side of this room were the two master's desks and from their platform the floor sloped gradually upward to the opposite wall. Against the north wall, on either side, stood two immense Russian stoves of brick work reaching nearly to the ceiling; these contained roaring fires in winter. Fronting this array were the scholars' benches --- under the immediate eye of the authorities above. They were arranged in rows with double boxes, rising gently to the far wall, with alleys in between and two students in each box. The younger boys sat near the front, the Seniors on the far end. In the back seats sat a row of monitors whose office it was to call the school to order at the appointed hour.

On the south wall hung the school clock which had been presented in 1819 by Mrs. Margaret Phillips. The favorite motto of Judge Phillips was written on the case of the clock: "Youth is the seed-time of life".

7. The Brick Academy

Oliver Wendell Holmes, class of 1825, immortalized this Brick Academy in his Centennial poem, "School Boy", written in 1878.

Once the fifth "Main Building" was opened in 1865, the Trustees outfitted the Brick Academy as a gymnasium. It led an interesting existence over the next thirty plus years as it gradually deteriorated while being used for that purpose. It was totally gutted by fire on June 23, 1896, but was restored. After the turn of the century it was converted to use as a Dining Hall and then, in 1936, it was renovated to become the home of the English Department. It was during this reapplication that the name of the building became Bulfinch Hall --- a name and use which are still being maintained today.

 

THE FOURTH --- THE STONE ACADEMY
(1830-1865)

The fourth "Main Building", known as The Stone Academy, was erected on the northeast corner of Main Street and Chapel Avenue. Squire Samuel Farrar was not only the architect but was also responsible for the supervision of the construction which started in 1829 and was completed the following year. The cost of the edifice was $10,352.90 and was paid for partly from accrued income of the Phillips legacy and partly from the sale of land the Trustees owned in Maine and in Canada.

A vivid description of the erection of this building and the apparent sentiment towards its outwards appearance was provided by Dr. Fuess and reiterated by Fritz Allis in their books: "In the spring of 1829 workmen were excavating a cellar on the northeast corner of Main Street and Chapel Avenue and soon there arose an oblong, two-storied, massive edifice with thick walls of rough gray stone and a slanting roof, surmounted by a high wooden cupola or bell tower on which was perched an equally tall weathervane. The architect was Squire Farrar who had created a style that was all his own, not Grecian or Gothic or Colonial but "Farraresque". Bare, somber and unrelieved by ornamentation, the building resembled a jail or tomb and seemed to be at once the strangest and ugliest structure ever produced by the hand of man." This description does sound a bit harsh but when one views the Stone Academy in the same sketch as the Seminary Row buildings, the contrast is quite evident.

8. Teachers Seminary and the A.T.S.

The primary purpose of this building was to house the "English Classical School" (also known as the "English Department" or, in 1835, the "Teacher's Seminary"), another conception of the versatile Squire Farrar, which was established independent of Phillips Academy. This Seminary possessed a chemical laboratory in the basement of the Stone Academy and a good supply of apparatus. There was also a room fitted out with "Philosophical apparatus" for experiments in what is now known as physics, an extensive cabinet of minerals for the study of geology, a complete field set of instruments for practical surveying and civil engineering and a library of 850 volumes. A Preparatory Department was located in a separate wooden building near the Stone Academy. The Teacher's Seminary rapidly turned into an English High School and on August 12, 1842, two years after Squire Farrar had resigned as Treasurer, the Seminary was merged with the Academy and became the English Department of Phillips Academy.

After this merger, the daily exercises of the school were held in the Stone Academy since the Brick Academy had proven unsatisfactory. On the first floor was the large room where the students met for morning and evening prayers. On the left, as one entered at the door near the southwest corner, was a low platform on which Dr. Taylor's chair was placed. Incoming students had to face those already seated. In the northeast alcove stood a wheezy organ, around which were stools for the choir. Along the middle aisle were desks for the day scholars and on either side were rows of hard wooden benches, certainly not designed for physical ease. The desks and benches were specimens of ancient carpentry, cut through and through with jacknives and worn away by the boots of many generations of youths. The classrooms were upstairs and were poorly lighted and wretchedly ventilated; they also possessed cruel seats.

9. The Stone Academy

On the evening of December 21, 1863, the Stone Academy was destroyed-by fire. It was generally believed, but never proven, that this conflagration was the result of arson perpetrated by a student who had just been expelled. Regardless of the cause, the Academy was again in need of another "Main Building".

10. The Stone Academy after fire of 1863

 

THE FIFTH --- THE MAIN ACADEMY BUILDING
(1866-1927)

In April 1865 every person connected with the Phillips Institution assembled on the lot selected for the new Academy building for the purpose of the ground breaking exercises. Everyone was present from "Uncle Sam" (Taylor) to the youngest pupil. Each person was expected to remove a shovelful of earth for the new foundation and, supposedly, there was to be a straight front line. Mr. Eaton commented, with a twinkle of the eye, "I know of no rule in mathematics that will warrant that line". Constructed to replace the Stone Academy, this "huge, ugly structure designed by a Mr. Cummings" was located approximately where the Samaritan House now stands. It was completed for dedication on February 7, 1866, and was used for exercises the next day. Pictures included here demonstrate the "uniqueness" of the building and the character it displayed.

11. Main Academy Building - 1885

12. Classroom --- Main Academy Building

13. Taylor Library --- 1886

The Samuel H. Taylor Memorial Library, founded in 1875, was first housed here. It contained 200 volumes at that time and access was free to all members of the Academy.

A "Phillipian Window" was placed in its quatre-foil in Academy Hall in this edifice in December of 1879. This window represented the seal of the Academy and was 35 inches in diameter. It was painted by Donald Macdonald of Boston who had previously executed the window in the Chapel.

14. Chapel in Main Academy Building

16. Main Academy Building

15. Classroom in 1885

17. Main Academy Building

Renovations were made to the building in the summer of 1887 in which two large recitation rooms replaced the chapel on the second floor and the chapel was moved to the third floor. That same year a gas system for lighting was donated by Hon. Byron Weston of Dalton, Massachusetts. A Philiipian article of the next February commented that: "now that the gas is in good working order and there seems to be no need of the old oil lamps, it would be a good plan to have them removed from the upper hall as they are no ornament to the place". (This is quite a contrast to today's philosophy of preserving the old for the sake of ambiance.) A new stairway from the upper hall to the chapel was installed in 1888.

A fire broke out in the basement on February 11, 1899. Pipes heated some woodwork to the ignition point but the fire was discovered before much damage was done. In 1902, the Academy Architect Guy Lowell sent engineer John Buttimer to investigate the soundness of the building. It was discovered that the floor beams on the third floor running from the main beam in the center to the sides had pulled loose; they only overlapped one inch rather than the required five inches. The post-facto concern prompted by this discovery was considerable and Guy Lowell drew up remodelling plans that year that were rapidly accepted by the Trustees. The remodelling contract was awarded to Hardy & Cole of Andover and work commenced in mid-March to remove the third floor. Additional renovations eight years later resulted in the removal of the portico yielding a plain front with the main entrance in the basement.

18. The Old Main Building

19. Going!

20. Almost Gone!

21. The Site of the Old Main Building in 1927

18-21. Main Academy Building Being Razed

The fifth Main Building was condemned by state officials in the mid 1920's and it was not used for recitation purposes after 1925. In the spring of 1927 it was declared to be structurally unsound and a contract was awarded to the American Building and Wrecking Co. of Cambridge for its demolition. Work was begun on May 10, 1927, and by June 3 the walls had been leveled and nothing remained but the cellar. 250,000 bricks were saved to be used for backing-up brick in Samuel F. B. Morse Hall. Some of the salvaged slate was also saved for use on the roofs of the PAE Society House, Draper Cottage and Pemberton Cottage.

 

THE SIXTH --- SAMUEL PHILLIPS HALL
(1924-Present)

The present "Main Building" was planned in 1922 as part of the major Quadrangle development which included relocating Pearson Hall. Erected in 1924 through the generosity of over 2500 Alumni and friends, it was named for Judge Samuel Phillips, one of the founders. It was called the new Main Building for quite some time before the official name was selected. The architect was Guy Lowell of Boston working in collaboration with Charles Platt of New York City. Following dedication in June 1924, the first recitations were conducted at the opening of the winter term of the 1924-25 school year. The opening of this classroom building indicated the shift of emphasis from the west of Main Street to the east.

The approach to the entrance is by a flight of granite steps more than 70 feet wide to a granolithic platform from which eleven more steps lead to the main entrance door. Rising from the platform are six Doric columns and above them a central tower of wood on a granite base. The tower has supporting columns at each of the four corners. A clock with a face of Andover blue and gold figures and hands is on the front. The bell tower has a balustrade and a cupola with a copper dome as well as a weathervane finished in gold leaf. The total height to the top of the vane is 117 feet.

The building itself is of granite and brick 250 feet long, 33 feet deep with north and south wings approximately 31 feet wide and 37 feet deep. Stairways exist on each side of the central tower as well as at each end of the building. When constructed, the basement contained six classrooms and two examinations rooms as well as receiving rooms for the steam heat and electric power. The first floor comprised ten classrooms and one faculty room; the second floor had the same layout.

22. Foundation of the New Main Building

23. The New Main Building Almost Ready

Fifteen of the 26 recitation rooms were named in memory of donors to the Building and Endowment Fund.

C.P.F. Bancroft, Principal
Phillip Hamilton McMillan, 1891
Matthew Scoby McCurdy, Instructor
George Xavier McLanaghan, 1892
Moses Tyler Stevens, 1842
Ammi Wright Lancashire, 1908
James Smith Kimball, 1851
Harold Cogswell Whipple, 1912
Joseph Warren Smith, 1851
Eleuthere Irene DuPont
Frederich Goodwin Crane, 1884
Oliver Burr Jennings
Frederich William Wallace, 1884
William Henry Crocker, 1879
James Howard Bonbright, 1886

The presence of the 26 recitation rooms marked the first time that each Phillips Academy instructor could have his own classroom.


Chapter Three

Table of Contents