Bellarmine Hall, Post Hall, and the Science Center

In an effort to accommodate the increase in enrollment of the Saint Joseph’s University’s student body sprouting from the post-World War II boom, new academic buildings such as Bellarmine Hall, Post Hall, and the Science Center were built. Bellarmine Hall, built in 1960, expanded curriculum to include many new programs and allowed for the Cardboard College to be destroyed and make room for more academic buildings. Shortly after, Post Hall, formerly Villiger Hall, was constructed and brought the Food Marketing major to campus, which became one of the top rated majors amongst the Saint Joe’s population. Finally, the Science Center was built in the early 1970s which allowed for expansion of science programs and an even broader range of major options for students.

Bellarmine Hall, the Science Center, and Post Hall are three of some of the major classroom buildings on the campus of Saint Joseph’s University. Their addition to campus took place from 1960 - 1971 in an effort to provide extra classroom space for the Baby Boom generation and the post-World War II enrollment. Their introduction to campus allowed for the expansion of curricula as well as increase in population, shaping the University into what it is today. Originally, the school’s primary focus was in teaching its students theology and philosophy and many of the classes were mainly located in Barbelin Hall, including science labs that proved to be insufficient as the programs developed. As the school starts to introduce a broader range of majors and welcome a larger student body, there is a need for an expansion of the campus. 

The first major academic addition since the relocation of the campus from Stiles Street to the Main Line area in 1922, was Bellarmine Hall, opened in 1960. Named after Jesuit Saint Robert Bellarmine (1542-1621), this building was a significant piece of The Greater Saint Joseph’s College Development Program and reshaped the curriculum after the increased enrollment that spurred from the post-World War II boom. The building sits on Overbrook Avenue at three stories high, with room for 30 classrooms and 1,750 seats for students between the rooms. The building also “contains 14 faculty offices, 6 administrative offices, 2 seminar rooms, an electronic laboratory”^[1] and more. With this new addition, the building helped to expand on the English, Theology, Classics, and Modern Languages Departments as well as built out the Latin American studies and Campus Ministry programs. Bellarmine was completed in the fall of 1960 for students to use by September 19, and dedicated on November 11, 1960 in a grand ceremony entitled “Dedication and Demolition Day.” This event included the destruction of the “Cardboard College,” formally known as the Barbelin Annex which was located just down the hill from Barbelin Hall, on the corner of City Avenue and 54th Street. Designs for the building all had the goal of blending in with the Gothic architecture of the rest of the campus and as the architect puts it, “It represents the first steps taken to tie the lower and upper areas of campus.”^[2] The building was awarded best scholastic building in the entire state of Pennsylvania by the Pennsylvania Chapter of the American Institute of Architects. 

Just five years later, in 1965, another academic building was completed along Overbrook Ave. Originally named after Father Burchard Villiger, the fifth president of Saint Joseph’s University, Villager Hall was the second academic building designed to house the post World War II and Baby Boom Generation’s increase in enrollment. The name was later changed to its current title John R. Post Hall in honor of SJU alumni and generous donor John Post after his $6 million donation in 2000. The building was designed to house Bluett Theater, a 400-seat theater named after university president Joseph Bluett, as well as the Academy of Food Marketing. Saint Joseph’s University’s Food Marketing Program began in 1962 and its curriculum focused on “all facets of food marketing: manufacture, procurement, advertising, processing, and distribution”^[3] while also focusing on humanistic and social responsibilities of the industry such as addressing food shortages in the world.​​ This inclusion of social responsibilities incorporated the Jesuit mission of “service for others” and “Christian social action”^[4]. Founder of the program, James J. O’Connor (1931-1996), believed that the prime location of the campus in the city of Philadelphia allowed for connections between New York, Washington, and many food merchandising companies within Philadelphia. As this building and program were being built on the campus, the architects and faculty decided to include a fresco painting that reflected O’Connor’s ideals and goals. The fresco was unfortunately destroyed in the revamping of the building in 1972. This program remains one of Saint Joseph’s most successful and renowned programs today because of the limited access to the program across the nation as well as its connection to Jesuit principles. Besides the Food Marking Association, other departments housed within Post Hall throughout the years include psychology, sociology, and interdisciplinary health services.

With multiple versatile academic buildings already in place around campus, the turn of the 1970s called for the introduction of a specialized science building. Chemistry and Physics were first offered in 1945 and were some of the first majors at Saint Joe’s. Physics was one of the school’s most popular majors “with Saint Joseph’s ranking fifth in 1957 among colleges and universities in the United States in the number of degrees granted in the subject.”^[5] Chemistry, also significant to note, was the first master’s program at the university, inaugurated in 1953. Before the 1970s, physical science courses were taught in Barbelin Hall, a building which lacks the much needed laboratory space. Thus, in the fall of 1971, the Science Center was open to students, standing up the hill from Bellarmine. This new building contained amphitheaters, laboratories, offices and supply rooms and housed the biology, chemistry, physics, and psychology departments. The laboratory tables replaced the typical classroom layout, allowing for integrated lecture and lab periods and more meaningful work. The Science Center’s expansion of laboratory facilities also allowed for innovations in the science curriculum “including a joint program in science teacher education…supported by a $91,500 National Science Foundation grant.”^[6] The building itself was designed by architects Bellante, Clauss, Miller & Nolan who have designed other buildings on Saint Joseph’s campus including LaFarge Residence Hall. 

Throughout the years, all three buildings allowed for a much needed expansion for curriculum as well as space for more students on campus. Significant programs, like the Food Marketing program, allowed for a new era to begin at Saint Joseph’s as this became one of the most important programs at the school to this day, attracting an even broader range of students than ever before. The increased enrollment that these buildings accommodated allowed for an even wider selection of majors and minors with a few changes to the original division of departments in the buildings. Since the addition of the Science Center in 1971, even more academic buildings have been added around campus including Mandeville Hall, currently home to the Food Marketing program and Haub School of Business, as well as Merion Hall, home to the College of Health Studies and Education. The addition of Bellarmine, Post, and the Science Center to campus laid the groundwork for future academic additions and further expansion of curricula and student population, such as the purchase of the Maguire Campus in Montgomery County, across City Avenue from Barbelin in 2005.

1. Alvare, Carlos. “As the Architect Sees It,” The Hawk. 7 November 1960. 0352:FBLD.2, Bellarmine: Award Folder. Saint Joseph’s University Archives and Special Collections, Philadelphia, PA.
2. Contosta, David R. Saint Joseph’s Philadelphia Jesuit University 150 years. Philadelphia, Saint Joseph’s University Press, 2000, pp. 241-245.
3. St. Joseph’s College, Catalogs 1962-1966. Saint Joseph’s University Archives and Special Collections, Philadelphia, PA.
4. Whelan Jr, William F. Saint Joseph’s College News Release. 18 September 1960. 0352:FBLD.2, Dedication and Demolition Folder. Saint Joseph’s University Archives and Special Collections, Philadelphia, PA.
5. Contosta, David R. Saint Joseph’s Philadelphia Jesuit University 150 years. Philadelphia, Saint Joseph’s University Press, 2000, pp. 241-245.
6. Saint Joseph’s College News Release. 1971. FBLD.0025, Science Center: 1971 Folder. Saint Joseph’s University Archives and Special Collections, Philadelphia, PA.