The Council of Independent Colleges: Historic Campus Architecture Project

Merner-Pfeiffer Hall of Science

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Merner-Pfeiffer Hall of Science (front facade), Albright College

Institution Name: Albright College
Original/Historic Place Name: Science Hall
Location on Campus:
Date(s) of Construction and Designer(s):

1929	original construction Dethoff, John C.
1965	addition; Clarence A. Horn wing Unknown

Type of Place: Individual building
Style(s): (Glossary)
Materials:

Foundation: masonry

Walls: brick

Roof: slate

Function:

1930-present (2007)

academic department building (biology, chemistry, physics)

Significance:
Landmark designation:

none

Narrative: see below
References: see below

Narrative:
Science Hall was built in 1929 in preparation for the merger of Schuylkill College, then located on the college's current campus in Reading, and Albright College, located in Myerstown, Pennsylvania. It was dedicated in 1930, and rededicated in 1936 to honor benefactors, Henry and Annie Merner Pfeiffer, whose philanthropy freed the building from the threat of foreclosure during the Depression.

The Clarence A. Horn wing, added in 1965, was named for the biology professor who developed and advanced the colleges life sciences and premedical program. The sciences and the premedical, predental, and preveterinary programs at Albright College have since then had an enduring reputation for excellence and have graduated an exceptionally high percentage of students who have gone on to become leading physicians. The building housed then, as it still does now, the biology, chemistry, and physics departments.

References:

I. Bibliographic sources:

Barth, Eugene H. Discovery and Promise: A History of Albright College, 1856-1981. Reading, PA: Albright College, 1989.

Gingrich, R. Wilbur, and Barth, Eugene H. A History of Albright College. Reading, PA: Albright College, 1956.

II. Location of other data:

University: Special Collections, Facilities Management Office