Photos from December 2024.
Paterson Hall is an earlier women’s dorm on south campus. Honestly, it’s kind of difficult to write any sort of meaningful intro for a lot of these mid-century dorms, just because they’re so bland and uninteresting beyond the brief history. Hence, this will probably be another short article, solely for the purpose of saying “I went inside every building on campus.”
Paterson Hall is located on the far side of south campus; bordered by Baker Hall to the east, Bradley Hall to the west, 12th Avenue and the South Oval to the north, and Siebert Hall and Morrison Tower to the south. It is directly attached to Bradley Hall, similar to the connection between Baker East and West and Canfield and Mack Halls.
History
Paterson Hall was designed by university architect Howard Dwight Smith. It was part of a larger project known as the “Womens Dormitory--12th Avenue Project.” [sic] Its constituent parts include Paterson, Bradley, the addition to Canfield in a Mid-Century Modern style, and additions to Kennedy Commons (then known as the Women’s Dining Hall).
Paterson Hall; undated, but likely from the 1950s. (Buckeye Stroll)
Interestingly, structures known as the “12th Avenue Annexes” stood on the site of what would later become Paterson Hall. These were deconstructed buildings from Fort Thomas, Kentucky, and they were rebuilt on campus c. 1947. Oddly, they were demolished only six years later in preparation for the construction of Paterson and its adjoining dorms.
Construction began in April 1953, executed by James I. Barnes Construction Co., and finished in December 1954 such that the building could be occupied the following January. It was a bit cheaper than the high-rise dorms nearby, construction costing roughly 1 million dollars. Like the other Mid-Century Modern dorms from this era, Paterson Hall has a reinforced concrete frame clad in brick. According to Herrick, its net assignable square footage is 41,199. It was used as a women’s dorm, but a few rooms were set aside for guests visiting Ohio State.
John Herrick mentioned a few alternative names for Paterson Hall. He wrote that it was frequently misspelled “Patterson,” as well as The Lantern’s erroneous label of “East Hall.” Its label in the architectural drawings was “D Unit.” Finally, Campus Planning records use “Alma Wacker Paterson Hall.”
Alma Paterson, undated. (University Archives)
Alma Paterson (1883-1947) was an Ohio State alumna who graduated in 1905 with a bachelor’s degree in arts. After graduation, she served as the director of women’s physical education for three years, and was active in the Columbus community. However, her most significant accomplishment was that she was the first woman on the Ohio State Board of Directors. Ohio Governor A. Victor Donahey called for her appointment, as “the large number of women registered at the University warrants [a woman’s] selection.” Paterson began her position in 1924, succeeding the late Thomas Mendenhall, and served until 1933. She was even Vice Chairman for a period of time.
Alma Paterson on the Board of Directors in 1926. (University Archives)
Looking at it now, her appointment was a pretty big deal, considering how sexist American culture was at the time. I’m honestly surprised it happened this early in the university’s history, my guess would have been the 1960s or 1970s at the earliest. Her severe gaze fits in pretty well with the other grumpy-looking men in the room.
I think it's worth something that Ohio State was naming the women’s dormitories after important women in the university’s history, even before that was the politically correct move. It would be so easy to just pick another old codger that donated a ton of money, or even the wife of some notable OSU alum (at first I thought that Siebert Hall was named after Professor Siebert and not his wife). This was the opposite of what the “American Dream” was at the time--a woman was supposed to be a housewife, have kids, and be subservient to her husband; not be college educated or independent whatsoever. At least that institutional barrier has come down, but there’s still work to be done.
Not much has really happened since the building’s construction. In July 2019, the lawn out front was redone to presumably allow more seating and meet ADA requirements.
The old entry to Paterson c. September 2016. (Google Maps)
I only went inside Paterson once before covering it in this project, after a very odd night out that involved skipping along the sidewalk with my shirt off in the rain. I then promptly left as everyone I was with who lived there immediately went to bed, and I was left alone in the lobby. That was a sad walk back to my dorm, as I was still drunk and wet, but no longer in a skipping mood.
Photos
I was exceptionally lazy while taking a lot of these exterior photos, so I apologize if you actually lived here and feel I have not done the building justice. Here’s the main facade:
The area where it connects to Bradley--left is Paterson, right is Bradley, and the middle is the connector hallway between the two:
The central mass and portico:
The trapezoidal projection:
Looking at the floor plans on the wall used for fire exit purposes, this area has larger rooms, which I bet were the ones originally used to house the university’s guests. Now I think they are just quads.
From the side, Paterson appears as a scaled-down Baker Hall.
In the courtyard out back:
I was intrigued by the way that the windows of the projection “round the corner”--that was a feature first introduced by International-style architecture, one rarely seen on campus buildings. It is only possible on structures with curtain-wall construction.
Here is the moment where Paterson and Bradley connect again, this time from the rear:
The left building is Bradley, the right projection with the stone cladding is Paterson, and the hallway between is the connector unit.
I had initially entered Paterson Hall through Bradley Hall’s basement. My first sight was their downstairs study rooms:
I continued down that hallway, but after going through a door that I thought would lead me to the stairs, the door latched behind me and I had locked myself out. Oops! This was that area I was presently stuck in:
Looking south, I think this hallway connects to the basement of Siebert Hall:
I eventually found my way back inside. I found the lobby to be rather comfy and cozy. Here’s my crappy clandestine photo of it:
This built-in wooden cabinet is cool, and the building uses it as a “little free library.”
I couldn’t find the stairs immediately, so I took the central elevator, which was tiny and cramped. I later discovered they were behind the door right after the elevator.
The central part of Paterson Hall (the one faced in stone, if you recall) has a large study room on each floor instead of dorm space:
An average hallway, which seems nicely updated:
The part of the stairs with roof access:
And to cap off my visit…a dead cockroach on the stairs. Sounds about right.
Paterson Hall will be renovated soon, according to Framework 3.0. I’m honestly not even sure what that would entail, since most of the spaces seem to have been pretty recently updated.
Sources:
https://kb.osu.edu/handle/1811/24059
https://library.osu.edu/site/archives/university-archives/
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