McShain Hall

McShain Hall opened on September 4th, 1988, housing 300 students and staff in the Neo-Gothic building. This state of the art building combined classrooms with dormitories, and was decorated with the new high tech of 1988. The building is named after John McShain, one of Saint Joseph’s University’s most famous and accomplished alumni, who worked on several Washington D.C buildings, such as the Pentagon, Jefferson Memorial, and State Department building. Before he became known as "the man who built Washington," he built Barbelin Hall, the first building on the new Overbrook campus. In 1988, the University decided to honor him as the namesake of the new dormitory. The building cost eleven million dollars to build (twenty six million dollars adjusted for inflation) and was met with a week-long celebration of various events. The opening of McShain Hall was also monumental for the bridge that now connected Philadelphia and Montgomery county, changing Saint Joseph’s University into a mix between City and Suburbs.

The Namesake

When thinking of famous SJU alumni, most will name the likes of Jameer Nelson, Muffet McGraw, or Jack Ramsay. However, Saint Joseph’s most accomplished alumnus might just be John McShain. A graduate of Saint Joseph's College in 1922, McShain would go on to take over his father’s building company. At age 29, while living at the corner of Church Rd. and City Ave.,  he would be tasked with building Barbelin Hall, as the school planned its move to Overbrook. While he would return to build Alumni Fieldhouse as well, he would go on to greater projects, building The Pentagon, Jefferson Memorial, Library of Congress Annex, State Department Building, the Kennedy Center for Performing Arts, the Franklin Roosevelt Presidential Library, as well as the 1951 White House Renovation under President Truman, earning him the nickname, “The Man Who Built Washington.” A devout Catholic and philanthropist,  he was knighted by Pope Pius XII under the order of St. Gregory for his accomplishments.

Planning and Construction

As the 1960s began Saint Joseph’s transition into a residential school, the College soon began to plan room for additional residential space by acquiring the houses on Lapsley Lane. In addition to finally buying all of the Lapsley Lane houses, the College took a major leap towards a transition from a commuter centric to residential school by building Lafarge and Sourin Halls on the Philadelphia side, The College then expanded their academic and athletic facilities by building additional wings on Alumni Fieldhouse and the Drexel Library, both designed by John Sabbatino. Soon after, the University acquired Saint Mary’s Hall in 1985, and the surrounding 5.7 acres of land, which previously belonged to the Sisters of Bon Secours. The Saint Mary’s Hall property was once originally part of an estate built in the early 1900’s which was sold to the Sisters of Bon Secours. The Sisters replaced the original house with the current St. Mary’s Hall building, while keeping the original carriage house behind, which is now the Claver House. After the purchase of the land St. Mary’s Hall was used as a women’s dorm. The Claver House, named after Peter Claver, a Jesuit Priest who cared for and fed the mistreated slaves of Columbia, making him the patron Saint of Slaves, was used for an experimental housing program, in which fifteen male students would each bunk with an international student. Currently, St. Mary’s Hall is used for financial affairs and human resources administration offices while the Claver House is the headquarters of the Honors Program.  The University planned to build a large residence hall on the land behind St. Mary’s Hall.  However, the plan stalled due to strong opposition to the University’s eccentric neighbor behind Lapsley Lane, Albert Barnes. It was not until Fr. Nicholas Rashford became president of the University in 1986 when the plan was altered to move the new residence hall in front of Saint Mary’s, and along City Ave. This plan both appeased Mr. Barnes, and allowed for the inclusion of what is now McShain’s iconic bridge.

Design

Saint Joseph’s would once again tap John Sabbatino to design the new residence hall. It was decided that the building would be designed in a Neo-Gothic style, in homage to Barbelin Hall, built by the man who also made an unspecified multimillion dollar gift towards the new residence hall. It was decided that the building would honor John McShain, and it would be named McShain Hall. McShain Hall was designed to be five stories, with enough housing for 300 students. In addition to a residence hall, McShain Hall was designed to be a multipurpose building for the University. Each residential floor would also contain a classroom for classes as well as student run study programs. Each wing had a student lounge, and the first floor lounge even had billiard tables. The fifth floor was reserved to house President Rashford, along with an executive center for hosting  guest speakers and conferences. The fifth floor would be named the Erivan K Haub Executive Center. Haub was a German-born businessman who was the Chief Executive Officer of the Tengelmann Group, a large retailer conglomerate that owned groceries such as A&P. In the recent years prior to the construction of McShain Hall, Haub began donating to the university, including to the construction of McShain Hall itself. Haub would go on to play a large role in the growth of Saint Joseph’s food marketing program and would eventually become the namesake of the University’s business school. 

In terms of the individual dorm rooms, the brand new residence hall quickly was given the moniker “Hotel McShain,” due to all of its fancy new amenities. Along with all new facilities, every room was equipped with a Centrex Telephone and a computer connected to the VAX, which was a University-wide network for students and professors to exchange information, and access the library online-files. Outside of the dorm rooms, the building was equipped with high-tech security and safety features, such as automatic opening and locking doors, and mag-stripe security cards issued to each resident. It was deemed by the Hawk Student Newspaper to be the high-tech dorm that would “usher the University into the ‘90s.”

McShain Hall’s final, and most defining feature, is the bridge across City Avenue. A result of the last-minute move to border City Avenue, the bridge was designed after the footbridges in Cambridge, England, and with the same Neo-Gothic Style as McShain Hall. While this was a functional addition, President Rashford saw it as symbolizing more. Rashford claimed that the bridge was an announcement to City Avenue drivers that Saint Joseph’s was no longer just a small college, with a few buildings, but a full sixty-acre campus.

Grand Opening

The dedication of Mcshain Hall took place on October 8th, 1988, with the grand opening of the eleven million dollar (twenty six million dollars adjusted for inflation) building occurring on September 4th of that same year. The dedication of McShain Hall was met with a week of special events on campus, from October 1st to October 9th. The first event to take place was a ribbon-cutting ceremony on the new McShain bridge that connected the city of Philadelphia to the Suburbs of Montgomery County. Followed up by three showings across three days of the theater production “A Man for All Seasons” and the Annual Parents weekend festivities as well. The more formal events of this week of dedication included a reception that was followed up by a dance party for students, parents, and alumni. As well as a private, Black-tie dinner that was held in honor of the McShain family. This week of dedication was officiated by Reverend Rashford and Mrs. McShain. 

The opening of McShain Hall was an important event for the campus and expansion of Saint Joseph’s University. The new and massive dorm building that newly presided on the “suburb” side of the campus expansion was one of the first steps into making the Saint Joseph’s University that you see today. McShain Hall was a step forward for the University's history, and when the bridge that connects the two campuses was built, it was a bridge to the future of the University. The bridge, alongside extensive landscaping and building renovations was all a part of President Rashford’s multi-million dollar campus beautification and improvement plan. City Avenue was also lined with new crimson and gray university flags with the opening of the bridge, further symbolizing Saint Joseph’s University as no longer a small school, and a testament to what would further become of the University.    

Conclusion

McShain Hall has served as a home for many students throughout their time at Saint Joseph’s University, hosting many memories for first year students. With McShain’s bridge still serving as a testament to the connection between city and suburb, as the Montgomery county side of the school only has expanded larger over time. It has now been 34 years since the opening of McShain Hall, and its once praised high-tech design and look has now been looked on as outdated. McShain Hall lost its title of the newest freshman dorm building in 2012, with the opening of Villiger Hall. McShain’s bridge still acts as a connection between campuses, as the Montgomery County side of the University has expanded largely since 1988.

“Building Bridges Week Pamphlet,” McShain Dedication, FLBD.0023, Saint Joseph’s University Records, Saint Joseph’s University Archives and Special Collections

Contosta, David R. Saint’s Joseph’s, Philadelphia’s Jesuit University, 150 Years, Philadelphia, Saint Joseph’s University Press, 2000.

Fowler, Glenn. “John McShain, 90, Constructor Of Pentagon and Kennedy Center.” The New York Times, September 19, 1989. 

“Correspondence between John McShain and John J. Long,” McShain Dedication, FBLD.0023, Saint Joseph’s University Records, Saint Joseph’s University Archives and Special Collections

“Correspondence between Saint Joseph’s University and Sisters of Bon Secours,” Residences/Houses, FBLD.0021, Saint Joseph’s University Records, Saint Joseph’s University Archives and Special Collections

McShain Architect Proposal, FBLD.0023, Saint Joseph’s University Records, Saint Joseph’s University Archives and Special Collections.

The Hawk Volume LVIII, Number 1, August 19, 1988, Saint Joseph’s University Records, Saint Joseph’s University Archives and Special Collections.

The Hawk Volume LVIII, Number 4, September 30, 1988, Saint Joseph’s University Records, Saint Joseph’s University Archives and Special Collections.