Temple University: Sullivan Hall – Philadelphia PA

Description

Temple University’s Sullivan Hall was originally built as the university library (Sullivan Memorial Library) during the Great Depression. Its construction was enabled by the federal Public Works Administration, which provided a $550,000 loan for the project (whose final cost was $555,334). Construction occurred between September 1934 and February 1936. (PWA Docket No. 1326.)

“Sullivan Memorial Library (PWA Project 1326) opened in 1936 as Temple’s first freestanding Library. It was built with a bequest from Thomas D. Sullivan, a local warehouse owner, and with federal funds from the New Deal Emergency Relief Act. During the Christmas holidays in 1935, books and equipment were moved from College Hall to the new facility at Park Avenue and Berks Street. President Franklin Delano Roosevelt attended the dedication ceremonies in February 1936. They were held in Mitten Hall to permit a larger audience and easier access for the president. In 1965 the university library moved one block east to its new and current home at Paley Library. Sullivan Hall now houses the executive offices …” (Hilty)