By Anastasia Tsioutas
As the birthplace and heart of the University, Hofstra Hall is often identified as the old white house in the center of the South campus. Its historical value is rarely recognized, but with the celebration of its 100th anniversary, the University is educating students on its historical value..
“I always walk by the building,” junior Katye Robare said. “But I don’t really know what it is used for.”
For some it is difficult to believe this old white house, now surrounded by numerous buildings, was once the entire University. Everything from classes to meetings and even the cafeteria were located in Hofstra Hall.
“It’s a beautiful building to work in. It has a lot of personality and it’s just beautifully constructed,” Ginny Greenberg, director of University Relations, said. “Anytime anyone is looking for my office and I say I’m in Hofstra Hall, sometimes they don’t know exactly where that is.”
In an attempt to educate faculty and students on the significance of Hofstra Hall, the University nominated the building for landmark status.
“We have contacted the Town of Hempstead’s Landmarks Preservation Commission,” Richard V. Guardino Jr., vice president for Business Development and executive dean, said. “We are reviewing the criteria for designation of landmark status to see if Hofstra Hall will be eligible.”
“One of the things we want to do is get it on a registry,” Gerri Solomon, assistant dean of special collections and University archivist, said. “So that people would know that it was a significant building.”
Even though nothing has been formally planned to commemorate the centennial anniversary of the building, celebration plans are being discussed, Greenberg said.
“It’s unfortunate that not a whole lot of students understand that this was the beginning of the University,” Greenberg said. “Maybe after it becomes more wide spread that this is the 100th anniversary of Hofstra Hall, they will realize and will see how far we have come over the years.”
Built in 1904, Hofstra Hall was once the home of millionaire William S. Hofstra and his wife, Kate. According to research in the Hempstead Sentinels, Solomon said the Hofstra’s moved to Long Island during 1903, around the time Mr. Hofstra was coming close to retirement from the lumber industry. While awaiting the construction of their home, then referred to as “the Netherlands,” they resided at the Garden City Hotel.
The house consisted of two greenhouses at each end, an apartment above the garage for the chauffeur and his family, a barn for Mrs. Hofstra’s horses, a large circular drive way and an extended area in the front.
After passing away in 1933, a year after her husband, the plans and instructions for the Hofstra estate were left in Mrs. Hofstra’s will.
“The will stipulated that the house, the property and a good portion of their money be used for purposes to benefit science, education or the common good,” Solomon said.
“Mrs. Hofstra had the foresight to want to leave the estate as a monument to her husband,” Greenberg said. “It was provided to make it into a place of higher learning.”
Solomon said the two trustees of their will were James Barnard and Howard Brower, who along with Truesdel Peck Calkins, tried to figure out what to do with the property. They thought it was a good idea if they could have a branch of New York University on Long Island.
Originally named Nassau Memorial Hofstra College of New York University, the school opened in 1935 as a two-year college, with Hofstra Hall as the main building on campus, other than the bookstore and athletic facilities.
“In 1939, the school was provisionally chartered as a four-year institution, and the name changed to Hofstra College. It was permanently chartered as a four-year college in 1940,” an article in Newsday by Cynthia Blair, said.
According to the University’s alumni magazine, Hofstra Update, “As Hofsta’s student body grew and its programs expanded, [so] did the facilities. First came Brower Hall in 1937, Barnard in 1938 and Calkins in 1939. Each building was set in a way that Hofstra Hall continued to be the center of activity on campus.”
Alumni quoted in the article remember their years at the University and the key role Hofstra Hall played in everyday student life. Students would go to class, eat and even relax with friends in the building.
“When you know the story behind the beginnings of Hofstra, you realize that everything that is happening on the 240 acres that encompasses the University started here [Hofstra Hall],” Greenberg said. “The Chronicle up on third floor, the student clubs, the cafeteria, offices, classrooms, this is where it all began and when you look at what Hofstra is today, you can’t help but just be amazed at how far we have come in a really short amount of time.”
Since classes are no longer held in Hofstra Hall, students have few reasons to enter the building.
“I’m not sure but is that the white building across from the library?” Jason D’Alberti, a junior, asked. “That’s all I really know about it. I’m not sure what it is used for.”
“It’s not the most welcoming place on campus. It seems pretty intimidating,” Matt Craig, a sophomore said. “Whenever I walk by, I wonder exactly what goes on in there.”
The only offices that take up the historical structure now are the development, public relations and legal offices.
“There are not a whole lot of reasons for students to come in but those who pass through all pretty much have the same reaction: That it is really beautiful inside,” Greenberg said. “The people who work here I think have a real respect for being here, I know I do.”
The importance of the building was recognized by students in the 1960s, who protested its destruction, according to a Newsday article by Bill Bleyer. The alumni established a Hofstra Hall Preservation Fund in 1979, which enabled a restoration of the Hall to take place.
“I feel that it is a real privilege to work in this building because this is where the University started,” Greenberg said. “For me as a former student and an administrator, you really do have a real sense of appreciation and respect for its beginnings.”
Although, Solomon said Hofstra Hall looks slightly different than it did back in the 1900s, the two portraits of Mr. and Mrs. Hofstra remain hanging from when the couple lived there.
“I think it’s [Hofstra Hall] the heart of the campus. It has been there for a hundred years and every class that has gone through Hofstra has seen it,” Solomon said. “I think it’s the one thing that kind of ties everybody together. Everybody recognizes it. You may not go in it, but you still know where it is. It’s sort of an orientation point.”
View A Slide Show Of Hofstra Hall Through History
( Harry Tanielyan/The Chronicle)