{"nrhp_refnum":"72001087","name":"Pennsylvania Hall, Gettysburg College","other_names":["Old Dorm"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"Gettysburg College campus","address_restricted":false,"city":"Gettysburg","county":"Adams County","state":"PA","lat":39.83506223000006,"lon":-77.23434177399997,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1972-03-16","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Military","Education","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["national"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"Pennsylvania Hall, also called Old Dorm, is a brick building on the Gettysburg College campus in Gettysburg, Adams County, Pennsylvania, built in 1836-38 as the college's first building. It is a three-and-a-half-story Greek Revival structure with a central cupola and a south portico of fluted Doric columns.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the building is significant as the architectural expression of the American Greek Revival style and as the initial building of Gettysburg College, which was the center of campus life until 1890. It also argues the building is significant for its use as a field hospital and observation point during the Battle of Gettysburg in 1863.","narrative":"Pennsylvania Hall, known as Old Dorm, is a brick Greek Revival building on the Gettysburg College campus in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. It has a central section with two wings, an octagonal cupola, and a south portico supported by four fluted Doric columns. The building was first occupied for the November term of 1837 and served as the college's central academic and residential building. Its original interior held about fifty student rooms, recitation rooms, a library, and a chapel. During the Battle of Gettysburg in July 1863, a college professor pointed out the strategic value of Cemetery Ridge to a Union signal officer from the cupola. Confederate forces then converted the building into a field hospital, and Union troops continued using it as a hospital after July 4, caring for nearly five hundred wounded men. The building was completely restored in 1969-1970, and it now houses college administrative offices.","period_of_significance":"1837","architect_builder":null,"architectural_style":"American Greek Revival","criteria":[],"status_note":"Restored 1969-1970 and now serves as the administrative offices of the college","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-haiku-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.1-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 17:11:30.664826-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_PA/72001087.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/72001087/88e832727c-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/72001087/88e832727c-1600.webp","licence":"Public domain","author":"Frederick Tilberg","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Pennsylvania_Hall,_Gettysburg_College.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Frederick Tilberg</a>, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Pennsylvania_Hall,_Gettysburg_College.jpg"},"district":{"nrhp_refnum":"66000642","name":"Gettysburg National Military Park","url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/districts/pennsylvania/gettysburg-national-military-park-66000642/"},"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/71995651","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pennsylvania_Hall_(Gettysburg,_Pennsylvania)","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7163748"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/pennsylvania/adams-county/pennsylvania-hall-gettysburg-college-72001087/"}