Bently Hall
Why it's listed
Built beginning in 1820 on a hillside above French Creek on the Allegheny College campus in Meadville, Bentley Hall was designed by Reverend Timothy Alden, the college founder and first president. The building is brick, with a central three-story section about 60 feet wide flanked by two two-story wings 30 feet wide. Four Greek Doric columns front each wing, and a copper-topped cupola rises from the center. The college was founded in 1815 and the building was named for William Bentley, a Harvard graduate and pastor whose library was inherited by the college after his death. The building originally held classrooms, a library, the president's offices and quarters, and student dormitories. Its library collection drew scholars from afar, and the building is regarded as the center of the college. It is now used mainly for administrative offices.
Significance in brief: The nomination argues the building is architecturally significant as a good local interpretation of Colonial and Greek Revival styles, historically significant as the center of Allegheny College, an early institution of higher learning in the region, and culturally significant because it originally housed one of the finest library collections in the nation. Its connection to the Meadville community is also cited.
Machine-generated summary. This summary was generated by a language model from the official nomination document and has not been reviewed line by line by an editor. It may contain errors. Check the source document before relying on any detail. Source: nomination document (PDF) · National Archives catalog entry. NRHP reference 77001156, listed May 6, 1977. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-haiku-5-5, prompt v1.1-2026-10-29, confidence medium).
Key facts
| Address | Allegheny College campus, Meadville |
|---|---|
| County | Crawford County |
| Listed | May 6, 1977 |
| Reference number | 77001156 |
| Resource type | Building |
| Period of significance | 1800-1899 |
| Architect / builder | Reverend Timothy Alden |
| Architectural style | Colonial and Greek Revival |
| Criteria |
|
| Areas of significance | Education, Architecture |
| Level of significance | State |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Administrative offices occupy the building today; the form describes its condition as excellent with little exterior alteration. |
| Acreage | 0.5 |
| Coordinates | 41.64866, -80.14718 (NPS GIS) |
What listing means for this property
National Register listing is honorary for a privately owned home: it does not by itself restrict what an owner may do with their own money, and it does not require public access. Restrictions come from local landmark or historic-district ordinances, which are separate (how they differ).
Owner-occupied houses are not eligible for the 20% federal rehabilitation tax credit, which applies to income-producing buildings, but many states offer credits for homeowners. Listing also opens the door to preservation easements and to buying a plaque. Start with what listing means for homeowners, renovating a listed house and selling one.
General information, not legal or tax advice. Rules change; confirm with your State Historic Preservation Office or a qualified adviser.
Sources and further reading
- National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places database (snapshot May 2026), reference 77001156.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q4890472
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.