{"nrhp_refnum":"73001508","name":"St. Mary's Hall, University Of Dayton","other_names":["St. Mary's Hall, St. Mary's College"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"300 College Park","address_restricted":false,"city":"Dayton","county":"Montgomery County","state":"OH","lat":39.73949505500008,"lon":-84.17800393799996,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1973-05-25","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"St. Mary's Hall is a five-story brick building at 300 College Park on the University of Dayton campus in Dayton, Ohio, built in 1870 for St. Mary's College and probably designed by Brother Maximin Zehler.","why_significant":"When built in 1870 on a hill in southwest Dayton, it was the largest building in the city and was visible from all parts of town. Its mansard roof is noted as the earliest of that type on an Ohio college building. It also reflects the founding of Roman Catholic colleges in cities by the Society of Mary.","narrative":"St. Mary's Hall is a five-story brick building, 164 feet long and 70 feet wide, on the University of Dayton campus. Completed in 1870 for St. Mary's College, it has tall, narrow arched windows, bracketed eaves, a slightly projecting central section and a mansard roof. Brother Maximin Zehler, director of the college during its early growth, is thought to have been the architect. Members of the Society of Mary did most of the construction work, assisted by a hired carpenter and some bricklayers. At the time, it was the largest building in Dayton, rising from a hill surrounded by farmland and visible from across the city. Some called it \"Zehler's Folly\" because they considered it too large to be practical. Its mansard roof is described as the earliest of its kind on an Ohio college building. Originally holding offices, classrooms, laboratories, a library, dining rooms and dormitories, it now serves as the university's administrative headquarters.","period_of_significance":"1870","architect_builder":"Brother Maximin Zehler (thought to be the architect); built mainly by the brothers of the Society of Mary, with a hired carpenter and some bricklayers","architectural_style":"Mansard roof (Victorian era); tall arched windows and bracketed eaves","criteria":[],"status_note":"Used as an office building housing the university's top administrative and business offices; interior renovated in 1968; condition listed as good, altered.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:53:09.842048-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_OH/73001508.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/73001508/e1f13eadaf-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/73001508/e1f13eadaf-1600.webp","licence":"Public domain","author":"Nyttend","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:St._Mary%27s_Hall,_University_of_Dayton.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Nyttend</a>, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:St._Mary%27s_Hall,_University_of_Dayton.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/71990514","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._Mary%27s_Hall,_University_of_Dayton","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q138610583"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/ohio/montgomery-county/st-marys-hall-university-of-dayton-73001508/"}