Originally published in The Vidette-Messenger of Porter County on December 17, 1975.
Possible New Future For ‘Grand Old Dame’
By Jo Mannies
Old Photo Courtesy Of Valparaiso University Archives
If Valparaiso University’s Altruria Hall had been a person and not a student dormitory she would have been considered very special.
This picture taken more than 30 years ago shows how the upper floors of Altruria Hall were actually balconies overlooking a huge sitting room. Roof is a large skylight. Used for more than 60 years as dormitory for Valparaiso University students, the hall was frequently a setting for banquets and campus parties. It was also the center of student life for many years, with a dining hall located in the basement.
After she was “born” in the early 1900s, she became a beloved friend to thousands of young women before her doors were closed in 1973.
She entertained famous people in the academic, religious and secular fields from all over the world.
She also had a few alterations during her “life”, including a two-year stint as a men’s dorm, but her charm and warmth never really changed.
Now she is old ー but not forgotten.
Former residents in her quarters still talk about the friendship she fostered and the special significance given to those who were “Altruria girls.”
“Never in my life have I seen another building like Altruria,” stated Dr. Vera Hahn, V.U. speech and drama professor emerita. “There is none like it in the whole United States. I’ll never forget the first time I saw it.”
Studying took just as much time 50 years ago as it does now, according to this old photo of a woman writing in a dormitory “suite.” Each suite consisted of two rooms, with usually two girls assigned to a suite.
Dr. Hahn lived in Altruria during her first four years as a V.U. professor, from 1941-45. “I prospered well there,” she recalled. “I believe those were the happiest four years of my life here at the university.”
Along with other old acquaintances of Altruria Hall. Dr. Hahn is excited about the possibility of restoring the building for use as an arts center. Earlier this month, members of the Porter County Arts Commission inspected the building.
Although the commission has discussed various ways of funding such a restoration project, there have been no negotiations with V.U. administrators about purchasing the property, according to Albert Huegli, university president.
“Altruria Hall might have potential for the right purpose,” Huegli stated. “But, presently, there have been only unofficial inquiries about the building. The University has also made no formal proposal.”
For many years, Mr. and Mrs. Jay Garrison, now deceased, were managers of a dining hall located in the basement of Altruria.
Huegli admitted V.U. had been approached in the past two years by several prospective buyers, including some interested in making the building into apartments. The three-story building has been used for a storage area since it was closed in 1973 because of the structure’s lack of fire safety facilities and high maintenance costs.
“It could be fixed up for uses other than a residence hall at less cost,” he added. “We’d welcome any kind of conversation at an official level before the building deteriorates further.” Purchase price, he noted, has not been set. “We have no idea what the price would be.”
It is not certain how old Altruria Hall really is. Two books written about the history of Valparaiso University (one in 1921 and the other in 1959) set the date of construction as near 1912. The earliest yearbook currently possessed by the V.U. archives ー circa 1911 ー show the building was in use that year. Old university catalogs from the same period strongly suggest the structure was completed around 1909 although, unfortunately, no dormitory names were used in those early catalogs.
Despite its age, the exterior of Altruria Hall still seems to have a special charm. According to local architects, the structure is still basically sound and could be renovated.
“Altruria is very functional,” contended Margaretta Tangerman, V.U. professor emerita in social work. “It is deteriorating because it is not used.”
Prof. Tangerman lived in the dorm for many years during the 1950s, much of the time serving as the university’s first dean of women. Teas, parties and receptions were frequent, Prof. Tangerman said, since the large lounge room could seat several hundred people.
As the center of all campus social activity, Altruria entertained a number of famous personalities in the “commons” room, as former V.U. president O.P. Kretznabb called the large lounge.
Dr. Hahn remembered when Todd Duncan, a famous black singer “with a magnificent voice” was given an honorary degree. The board of directors presided over the ceremony, she said, noting Duncan appeared on campus two other times.
V.U. archivist Albert Seribner is not sure when this picture of the basement dining hall was taken, although it is certain the photo is of the hall before it was remodeled with wood paneling in the 1940s or 50s.
According to Prof. Tangerman, famous women like Countess Tolstoy, a Russian immigrant who opened a refugee camp for other immigrants, and the sister of then-German Chancellor Adenauer were always received in Altruria. Countess Tolstoy was particularly impressed with the structure. “She said the building made her think of an old Greek Orthodox church back in Russia.”
When Dr. Hahn lived in Altruria, all of the female university students ー except senior sorority members who lived in the sorority house ー were housed in the dorm. By the time Prof. Tangerman arrived, the university’s enrollment had greatly increased, so Altruria became the hall for freshman women.
Both women remembered the small chapel with its beautiful stained glass window (stolen a few years ago), and the formal dinners in the dining hall, which was remodeled about 25 or 30 years ago into the “Hole” ー the major student hangout before the current Student Union was completed in the mid 50s.
Both of the upper floors were actually balconies, with windows overlooking the lounge. The roof was a skylight, so window boxes full of flowers or vines were placed in all of the balcony windows. The effect was beautiful, the two professors asserted.
The highlight each year, however, both women agreed, was the Christmas reception held in the hall each year for O.P. Kretzmann. “Everyone wore formals,” Dr. Hahn recalled, “And each girl would carry a candle for the candle light parade.” All of the residents ー usually between 125 and 140 ー would start at the third floor and walk a winding path around the open balconies to the main floor. As they walked, they sang Christmas carols. “It was just lovely,” Prof. Tangerman said.
A tall Christmas tree reaching the ceiling was always placed in the lounge at Christmas time, Prof. Tangerman said, with the trimming a major undertaking.
Basement of Altruria Hall shows rapid deterioration. For many years after cafeteria facilities were removed, the basement served as kitchen for girls living in the hall. Students also used it for Saturday night coffee houses until the dormitory was closed in 1973.
“The dorm was reverent, a thing of beauty,: she continued. “That was how you felt about it. It was something like a fishbowl, since all of the girls could come out of their rooms and look down from the balconies into the lounge. But, there was a closeness in that dormitory that girls never had in any other. I still get letters every day from girls writing ‘I can never forget Altruria’s Christmas.” Dr. Hahn added, “Some of the girls remain friends to this very day I know. Altruria Hall has meaning for me only. The architecture is so unusual, it should be made a national monument of some kind. I would give anything to see it restored.”
“I hope they never tear it down,” Prof. Tangerman stated. “I hope the city buys it, I truly do.”