Trowel used for Alumni Hall's cornerstone ceremony (1926)
Description:
This is a photograph of the trowel used during the laying of the cornerstone of International YMCA College's (now Springfield College) Alumni Hall on September 22, 1926. The trowel is silver with a small wooden handle. It is inscribed "Alumni Hall/Corner stone/Sept. 22nd 1926". The trowel is small, measuring only 4" long and a little under 2" at its widest point (not including handle). It is assumed it was sent to the head librarian at Springfield College on January 6, 1934. Notes within the collection indicate that the trowel may also have been used for the Memorial Field House and for Abbey Hall cornerstone ceremonies. Just one year after the cornerstone was laid, Alumni Hall was completed. The building, though, was not formally dedicated until June 15, 1930 when all the funds for the building were officially received. In October of 1944, Alumni Hall, in conjunction with the Administration building, was used as a U.S. Navy Convalescent Hospital. The majority of the patients were housed in Alumni Hall, with one wing equipped for bed cases and the rest converted into hospital rooms for 2-4 men. Today, with the exception of necessary renovations, Alumni Hall remains largely unchanged. This is photograph of the item;
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