Harris Hall is an auditorium located at 617 East Huron Street in

Ann Arbor, Michigan Ann Arbor is a city in Washtenaw County, Michigan, United States, and its county seat. The 2020 United States census, 2020 census recorded its population to be 123,851, making it the List of municipalities in Michigan, fifth-most populous cit ...

. It was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

in 1982.

History

The Reverend Samuel Smith Harris was the second Bishop of the

Episcopal Diocese of Michigan The Episcopal Diocese of Michigan is the Episcopal Church (United States), Episcopal diocese comprising 70 congregations in the southeast part of Michigan. The diocese traces its roots to the founding of Cathedral Church of St. Paul (Detroit), St ...

. During the late 1800s, in response to the controversy surrounding the then-new

theory of evolution Evolution is the change in the heritable characteristics of biological populations over successive generations. It occurs when evolutionary processes such as natural selection and genetic drift act on genetic variation, resulting in certai ...

, Harris had the idea of constructing a forum for discussions of religion and science. Ann Arbor, the location of the

University of Michigan The University of Michigan (U-M, U of M, or Michigan) is a public university, public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest institution of higher education in the state. The University of Mi ...

, was Harris's selection for a location. In 1883, Harris and the local parish, St. Andrew's, began raising funds to construct a building. The church hired

Detroit Detroit ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Michigan, most populous city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated on the bank of the Detroit River across from Windsor, Ontario. It had a population of 639,111 at the 2020 United State ...

architect Gordon W. Lloyd to design this auditorium. Construction began in 1886 and was complete in 1887. The building was originally named Hobart Hall in honor of former bishop

John Henry Hobart John Henry Hobart (September 14, 1775 – September 12, 1830) was the third Episcopal bishop of New York (1816–1830). He vigorously promoted the extension of the Episcopal Church in upstate New York, as well as founded both the General T ...

, but was renamed after Harris's unexpected death in 1888. The hall was used for lectures, concerts, and other cultural forms of entertainment. The hall served the Episcopal church (it included parish house facilities) and University students, as well as the community at large. In addition to the auditorium, the building also contained a gymnasium, bowling alley, and billiard room. The building continued to be used for its original purpose until 1943, when it was converted to a

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for servicemen undergoing military training at the University. Beginning in 1946, the University leased it to use as headquarters for the Band and Wind Instrument departments. In 1974, St. Andrew's sold the structure to the non-denominational Word of God Community. In 1980, the firm of Buckheim and Rowland acquired the building and converted it to use as offices.

Description

Harris Hall is -story, red brick gable-roofed structure, measuring . It sits on a random-ashlar foundation, and has yellow-gray stone trim as string courses, doorway and window sills and lintels, and drip moldings. It has wooden Queen Anne-style eavesboards with supporting brackets. Above the entry and first floor windows are recessed, arch-topped, spandrel panels containing red

terra cotta Terracotta, also known as terra cotta or terra-cotta (; ; ), is a clay-based Vitrification#Ceramics, non-vitreous ceramicOED, "Terracotta""Terracotta" MFA Boston, "Cameo" database fired at relatively low temperatures. It is therefore a term used ...

. Similar panels in the second story contain colored glass transom lights. A flight of limestone steps runs up to the main entrance, which is protected by a projecting, gable-roofed structure with rounded flanking walls and carved stone capitals similar to Romanesque columns.

References

{{National Register of Historic Places in Michigan National Register of Historic Places in Washtenaw County, Michigan Victorian architecture in Michigan Buildings and structures completed in 1886 Buildings and structures in Ann Arbor, Michigan