Difference between revisions of "Pell Hall"

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'''Pell Hall''' was a building designated to be built with funds from a bequest by Mary B. Pell, widow of John B. Pell Class of 1852. The bequest was valued around $500,000 as of December 1913.<ref>[http://books.google.com/books?id=oDQoAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA82#v=onepage&q&f=false Columbia University Quarterly, December 1913, Pg. 82]</ref><ref>Another report placed the value of the bequest at $272,324. [http://spectatorarchive.library.columbia.edu/cgi-bin/columbia?a=d&d=cs19140520-01.2.4]</ref> Her total fortune was estimated to be around $2 million, and ordered divided between Columbia, [[Rutgers]], and the Dutch Reformed Church.<ref>[http://rumaps.rutgers.edu/location.jsp?id=C137419 RUMaps - Pell Hall]</ref><ref>[http://books.google.com/books?id=Yx4BAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA513#v=onepage&q&f=false The American Educational Review, Vol. 34, No. 10, July 1913]</ref><ref>The text of the bequest: [http://books.google.com/books?id=PTc4AAAAYAAJ&pg=PA607 "Charters, Acts of the Legislature, Official Documents and Records"], Pgs. 607-608. Compiled by John B. Pine in 1920.</ref><ref>[http://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=2249&dat=19140519&id=SGknAAAAIBAJ&sjid=EQQGAAAAIBAJ&pg=3025,3737871 "LARGE BEQUESTS TO COLLEGES - Columbia and Rutgers Given Nearly Half a Million in Pell Will"], Boston Evening Transcript, 19 May 1914.</ref><ref>[http://fultonhistory.com/Newspaper%2018/New%20York%20NY%20Press/New%20York%20NY%20Press%201914/New%20York%20NY%20Press%201914%20-%200082.pdf "Nearly $400,000,000 In Benefactions Is American Record For Year 1913"], The New York Magazine, Part VII, 4 January 1914.</ref> The bequest was tied up in real estate investments subject to [[w:Life estate|life estates]], presumably with Columbia as [[w:Remainderman|remainderman]], so the University did not immediately come into the money. As Pell Hall was apparently never built, it's unclear what happened to the money. This is particularly curious, since Rutgers came into its share of money (either $400,000 or $140,000) in 1928, with which they erected a dormitory named after Mrs. Pell's father, Wessel Wessels, and named a companion dormitory in her honor, both by 1930.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20100706104712/http://housing.rutgers.edu/ie/index.php?page=content/Common/Halls/CollegeAve/Pell.php Pell Hall]</ref><ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20100706095340/http://housing.rutgers.edu/ie/index.php?page=content/Common/Halls/CollegeAve/Wessels.php Wessels Hall]</ref><ref>[http://rumaps.rutgers.edu/location.jsp?id=C137419 RUMaps - Pell Hall]</ref><ref>[http://rumaps.rutgers.edu/location.jsp?id=C137418 RUMaps - Wessels Hall]</ref> Indeed, in his [[Annual Reports of the President to the Trustees|annual report]] delivered to the [[Trustees]] in January of 1929, [[President]] [[Nicholas Murray Butler]] listed a gift of $258,185.82 from the estate of Mary B. Pell as among the major additions to the general endowment in the prior year.<ref>[http://spectatorarchive.library.columbia.edu/cgi-bin/columbia?a=d&d=cs19290107-01.2.20 "Butler Report Shows Prospect of Deficit; Cites List of Achievements of Past Year"], Columbia Spectator, 7 Jan 1929</ref>
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'''Pell Hall''' was a building designated to be built with funds from a bequest by Mary Bogert Pell, widow of John H. Pell Class of 1852. Although the bequest was reported in 1913, and the money was possibly received in 1928, no building was ever erected.
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== Pell Bequest==
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Mary Bogert Pell passed away in May 1913. Her will provided for gifts to be made to the Dutch Reformed Church, Columbia, and [[Rutgers]].<ref>The text of the bequest: [http://books.google.com/books?id=PTc4AAAAYAAJ&pg=PA607 "Charters, Acts of the Legislature, Official Documents and Records"], Pgs. 607-608. Compiled by John B. Pine in 1920.</ref><ref>[http://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=2249&dat=19140519&id=SGknAAAAIBAJ&sjid=EQQGAAAAIBAJ&pg=3025,3737871 "LARGE BEQUESTS TO COLLEGES - Columbia and Rutgers Given Nearly Half a Million in Pell Will"], Boston Evening Transcript, 19 May 1914.</ref><ref>[http://fultonhistory.com/Newspaper%2018/New%20York%20NY%20Press/New%20York%20NY%20Press%201914/New%20York%20NY%20Press%201914%20-%200082.pdf "Nearly $400,000,000 In Benefactions Is American Record For Year 1913"], The New York Magazine, Part VII, 4 January 1914.</ref> Initial reports valued the bequests at between $500,000 and $1,000,000 per institution.<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=8RFLAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA939#v=onepage&q&f=false Science], Vol. 37, No. 964, Pg. 939, 20 June 1913; [https://books.google.com/books?id=2VpGAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA494#v=onepage&q&f=false Nature], Vol. 91, Pg. 493, 10 July 1913; [https://books.google.com/books?id=Yx4BAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA513#v=onepage&q&f=false The American Education Review], Vol. 34, No. 10, Pg. 513, July 1913; [https://books.google.com/books?id=oDQoAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA82#v=onepage&q&f=false Columbia University Quarterly], Vol. 16, No. 1, Pg. 82</ref> Subsequent estimates would revise the value of the bequest to Columbia down to approximately $272,000.<ref>"Columbia Beneficiary Under Pell Will"], Columbia Spectator, 20 May 1914</ref> The gift was among the largest the school had received, and the first gift specifically for the construction of a building since [[Joseph Pultizer]]'s gift to establish the [[School of Journalism]] and erect [[Pulitzer Hall]].<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=lIohAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA758#v=onepage&q&f=false Columbia Alumni News], Vol. 5, No. 36, Pg. 758, 10 July 1914</ref><ref>Ironically, much like Columbia never built Pell Hall, Columbia also ignored the fact that Pulitzer's bequest required that the building bear his name for almost 100 years.</ref>
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The gifts to Rutgers and the Reformed Church were intended for buildings honoring Pell's father, Wessel Wessels, while the gift to Columbia was intended to honor her late husband and Columbia alumnus, John Henry Pell, Class of 1852. The bequest was tied up in real estate investments subject to [[w:Life estate|life estates]], presumably with the beneficiaries as [[w:Remainderman|remainderman]], so they did not immediately come into the money. It's unclear whether the Reformed Church constructed their memorial to Wessels.<ref>There is a reference to the completion of a "Wessel s Memorial Building" in [https://books.google.com/books?id=oxkOdII1eU4C&pg=PA190#v=onepage&q&f=false "A Digest and Index of the Minutes of of the General Synod of the Reformed Church in America"], Pg. 190</ref> Rutgers erected Wessels Hall, a dormitory, with Pell's gift by 1930, and also named a companion dormitory after Pell herself.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20100706104712/http://housing.rutgers.edu/ie/index.php?page=content/Common/Halls/CollegeAve/Pell.php Pell Hall]</ref><ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20100706095340/http://housing.rutgers.edu/ie/index.php?page=content/Common/Halls/CollegeAve/Wessels.php Wessels Hall]</ref><ref>[http://rumaps.rutgers.edu/location.jsp?id=C137419 RUMaps - Pell Hall]</ref><ref>[http://rumaps.rutgers.edu/location.jsp?id=C137418 RUMaps - Wessels Hall]</ref>  
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Columbia on the other hand, never built Pell Hall. Curiously, in his [[Annual Reports of the President to the Trustees|annual report]] delivered to the [[Trustees]] in January of 1929, [[President]] [[Nicholas Murray Butler]] listed a gift of $258,185.82 from the estate of Mary B. Pell as among the major additions to the general endowment in the prior year.<ref>[http://spectatorarchive.library.columbia.edu/cgi-bin/columbia?a=d&d=cs19290107-01.2.20 "Butler Report Shows Prospect of Deficit; Cites List of Achievements of Past Year"], Columbia Spectator, 7 Jan 1929</ref>
  
 
== Location ==
 
== Location ==
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It appears that the proposed location of the building funded by the Pell bequest moved around over time. A fundraising letter sent to alumni of the Philolexian Society in the 1910s aiming to raise money for a student center refers to Pell Hall, suggesting it might be built adjacent to [[Furnald Hall]], a Wallach to Furnald's Hartley. However, not permanent structure was erected south of Furnald until [[Ferris Booth Hall]]. An item in a 1916 issue of [[Columbia Alumni News]] on a proposal for [[Van Amringe Memorial Quadrangle]] notes that the as-of-yet unbuilt structure opposite [[Hamilton Hall]] might one day be Pell Hall.<ref>[http://books.google.com/books?id=DY0hAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA983&lpg=PA983#v=onepage&q&f=false Columbia Alumni News, Vol. 7 No. 34], Pg. 983, 26 May 1916</ref> Of course, [[John Jay Hall]] rose in that location in 1927.
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It appears that Pell Hall was initially intended to be a dormitory constructed immediately south of [[Furnald Hall]] - a [[Wallach Hall|Wallach]] to Furnald's [[Hartley Hall| Hartley]].<ref>[http://spectatorarchive.library.columbia.edu/cgi-bin/columbia?a=d&d=cs19150531-01.2.15 "Two Generations at Philolexian Dinner"], Columbia Spectator, 31 May 1915; [http://spectatorarchive.library.columbia.edu/cgi-bin/columbia?a=d&d=cs19160313-01.2.6 "Philolexian Holds Annual Banquet"], Columbia Spectator, 13 March 1916; [https://books.google.com/books?id=DY0hAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA744#v=onepage&q&f=false Columbia Alumni News], Vol. 7, No. 24, Pg. 744, 17, March 1916; [http://spectatorarchive.library.columbia.edu/cgi-bin/columbia?a=d&d=cs19160511-01.2.8 "Launch Campaign for Philo House"], Columbia Spectator, 11 May 1916</ref> However, no permanent structure was erected south of Furnald until [[Ferris Booth Hall]]. At least one source, describing a proposal for [[Van Amringe Memorial Quadrangle]] in 1916, noted that the as-of-yet unbuilt structure opposite [[Hamilton Hall]] might one day be Pell Hall.<ref>[http://books.google.com/books?id=DY0hAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA983&lpg=PA983#v=onepage&q&f=false Columbia Alumni News], Vol. 7 No. 34, Pg. 983, 26 May 1916</ref> Of course, [[John Jay Hall]] rose in that location in 1927.
  
 
==References==
 
==References==

Revision as of 16:59, 13 April 2016

Pell Hall was a building designated to be built with funds from a bequest by Mary Bogert Pell, widow of John H. Pell Class of 1852. Although the bequest was reported in 1913, and the money was possibly received in 1928, no building was ever erected.

Pell Bequest

Mary Bogert Pell passed away in May 1913. Her will provided for gifts to be made to the Dutch Reformed Church, Columbia, and Rutgers.[1][2][3] Initial reports valued the bequests at between $500,000 and $1,000,000 per institution.[4] Subsequent estimates would revise the value of the bequest to Columbia down to approximately $272,000.[5] The gift was among the largest the school had received, and the first gift specifically for the construction of a building since Joseph Pultizer's gift to establish the School of Journalism and erect Pulitzer Hall.[6][7]

The gifts to Rutgers and the Reformed Church were intended for buildings honoring Pell's father, Wessel Wessels, while the gift to Columbia was intended to honor her late husband and Columbia alumnus, John Henry Pell, Class of 1852. The bequest was tied up in real estate investments subject to life estates, presumably with the beneficiaries as remainderman, so they did not immediately come into the money. It's unclear whether the Reformed Church constructed their memorial to Wessels.[8] Rutgers erected Wessels Hall, a dormitory, with Pell's gift by 1930, and also named a companion dormitory after Pell herself.[9][10][11][12]

Columbia on the other hand, never built Pell Hall. Curiously, in his annual report delivered to the Trustees in January of 1929, President Nicholas Murray Butler listed a gift of $258,185.82 from the estate of Mary B. Pell as among the major additions to the general endowment in the prior year.[13]

Location

It appears that Pell Hall was initially intended to be a dormitory constructed immediately south of Furnald Hall - a Wallach to Furnald's Hartley.[14] However, no permanent structure was erected south of Furnald until Ferris Booth Hall. At least one source, describing a proposal for Van Amringe Memorial Quadrangle in 1916, noted that the as-of-yet unbuilt structure opposite Hamilton Hall might one day be Pell Hall.[15] Of course, John Jay Hall rose in that location in 1927.

References

  1. ↑ The text of the bequest: "Charters, Acts of the Legislature, Official Documents and Records", Pgs. 607-608. Compiled by John B. Pine in 1920.
  2. ↑ "LARGE BEQUESTS TO COLLEGES - Columbia and Rutgers Given Nearly Half a Million in Pell Will", Boston Evening Transcript, 19 May 1914.
  3. ↑ "Nearly $400,000,000 In Benefactions Is American Record For Year 1913", The New York Magazine, Part VII, 4 January 1914.
  4. ↑ Science, Vol. 37, No. 964, Pg. 939, 20 June 1913; Nature, Vol. 91, Pg. 493, 10 July 1913; The American Education Review, Vol. 34, No. 10, Pg. 513, July 1913; Columbia University Quarterly, Vol. 16, No. 1, Pg. 82
  5. ↑ "Columbia Beneficiary Under Pell Will"], Columbia Spectator, 20 May 1914
  6. ↑ Columbia Alumni News, Vol. 5, No. 36, Pg. 758, 10 July 1914
  7. ↑ Ironically, much like Columbia never built Pell Hall, Columbia also ignored the fact that Pulitzer's bequest required that the building bear his name for almost 100 years.
  8. ↑ There is a reference to the completion of a "Wessel s Memorial Building" in "A Digest and Index of the Minutes of of the General Synod of the Reformed Church in America", Pg. 190
  9. ↑ Pell Hall
  10. ↑ Wessels Hall
  11. ↑ RUMaps - Pell Hall
  12. ↑ RUMaps - Wessels Hall
  13. ↑ "Butler Report Shows Prospect of Deficit; Cites List of Achievements of Past Year", Columbia Spectator, 7 Jan 1929
  14. ↑ "Two Generations at Philolexian Dinner", Columbia Spectator, 31 May 1915; "Philolexian Holds Annual Banquet", Columbia Spectator, 13 March 1916; Columbia Alumni News, Vol. 7, No. 24, Pg. 744, 17, March 1916; "Launch Campaign for Philo House", Columbia Spectator, 11 May 1916
  15. ↑ Columbia Alumni News, Vol. 7 No. 34, Pg. 983, 26 May 1916
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