National Historic Landmark
Which site was the heritage designation of Healy Hall in Oct 1988?
Healy Hall Healy Hall is a National Historic Landmark and the flagship building of the main campus of Georgetown University in Washington , D.C . Constructed between 1877 and 1879 , the hall was designed by Paul J . Pelz and John L . Smithmeyer , prominent architects who also built the Library of Congress . The structure was named after Patrick Francis Healy , who was the President of Georgetown University at the time . Healy Hall serves as the main administrative and reception venue of Georgetown , with some portions still being used as classrooms . The building includes Riggs Library , one of the few extant cast iron libraries in the nation , as well as the elaborate Gaston Hall . History . Motivation . In 1873 , Patrick Francis Healy became the president of Georgetown University . Soon after entering office , he articulated to the Superior General of the Jesuit order , Peter Jan Beckx , his vision of transforming Georgetown from a college into a true university . This coincided with prominent Catholics calling for the creation of a great Catholic university in the United States , on par with other large American universities established around this time . Healys transformation involved broadening the schools curriculum and raising the standards of the Law School and School of Medicine . Both Healy and the provincial superior of the Jesuits Maryland Province , Joseph Keller , agreed in 1874 that the schools most pressing need was to expand its physical facilities . The two planned for the construction of several new buildings , which would contain classrooms , laboratories , a library , a chapel , and a dormitory for the older students . However , Beckx withheld approval of any new construction until Healy could demonstrate that Georgetown had the means to finance such a project . As time passed , the initial plan for several new buildings developed into a plan to build one grand building . Construction . Healy initially consulted Patrick C . Keely , a church architect from New York , about designing the new building . However , he decided it was better to hire an architect closer to Georgetown , and in fall 1874 , he selected John L . Smithmeyer and his associate , Paul J . Pelz , who would later design the Library of Congress Building . Smithmeyer , who was the chief architect , designed the plan and elevations of the structure , while Pelz designed its porches and interior rooms , including Gaston Hall , Riggs Library , and the parlors . Healy chose a site located between Old North and the Preparatory Building , now known as Maguire Hall . This was the first building on Georgetowns campus that would face the city of Washington , rather than the Potomac River . Plans for the building were first submitted in December 1875 . Keller objected to the construction of a single , large building because it would have lacked sufficient dormitory space for the Jesuit scholastics , who he sought to relocate from Woodstock College to Georgetown . However , Keller acquiesced to Healys plan in May 1876 . The designs were tweaked before being sent to the Superior General in Rome for approval in January 1877 . They called for a building measuring in length and in width . Beckx considered the planned building too large and ornate , and thought the projected cost was an underestimate . Nonetheless , he approved the project that year , on the condition that total expenses not exceed $100,000 , equivalent to $ in . In April 1877 , ground was broken on the foundation , which was completed in October . The construction of the building , from 1877 to 1879 , dramatically increased the amount of classroom and living space—at the time , it was also used as a dormitory—of what was then a small liberal arts college . Prior to its construction , Old North housed most of the colleges classrooms , dormitories , and other facilities . The construction also left the university deeply in debt and in possession for years of an enormous pile of dirt as a result of the excavation , with no funds to remove it . As a result of the debts , the Gaston Hall auditorium could not be completed until 1909 . The building was listed on District of Columbia Inventory of Historic Sites in 1964 , on the National Register of Historic Places on May 25 , 1971 , and as a National Historic Landmark on December 23 , 1987 . In addition , it is a contributing property of the Georgetown Historic District , which was listed as a National Historic Landmark District on May 28 , 1967 . The building was brought to national attention in 1973 when it acted as a prominent background for the film The Exorcist . In 1990 the interior hall and also the second story of the building featured in The Exorcist III . Architecture . The architecture of Healy Hall has been described as both Neo-Romanesque and High Victorian Gothic in style . Of this latter style , it is considered one of the last large scale examples in the United States . Built in a Neo-Medieval style that combines elements of Romanesque , Early Gothic , Late Gothic and Early Renaissance , the building contains the Office of the President ; Georgetowns Department of Classics ; the Kennedy Institute of Ethics ; and the Bioethics Research Library . Notable rooms in Healy include Riggs Library , one of the few extant cast iron libraries in the nation ; the Philodemic Room , the meeting room for the Philodemic Society , one of the oldest collegiate debating clubs in the nation ; the grand Hall of Cardinals ; the historic Constitution Room ; and the Carroll Parlor , which houses several notable pieces from the universitys art collection . Perhaps the grandest space in the building is Gaston Hall , Georgetowns Jewel in the Crown , the 750-seat auditorium which has played host to multitudes of world leaders . Gaston Hall , located on the third and fourth floors and named for Georgetowns first student , William Gaston , is decorated with the coats of arms of the Jesuit colleges and universities and rich allegorical scenes painted by notable Jesuit artist Brother Francis C . Schroen . Schroen also created the intricate paintings found in the Carroll Parlor and on the ceiling of the Bioethics Reference Centers Hirst Reading Room . Healy Hall rises to a height of , making it the tied with 700 Eleventh Street as the sixth tallest building in Washington , D.C . Clock hands . The hands of the Healy Clock Tower have been subjected to many thefts , as per the university tradition . Historically , students would steal the hands and mail them to the person they wished to visit the campus , most notably sent to the Vatican , where they were blessed by Pope John Paul II and then returned to the university . One such incident caused significant damage to the clock mechanism , however , and security has been increased as a result in recent years , decreasing the incidence of the theft . These measures have not prevented students from successfully obtaining the hands however , as they are captured every five to six years , such as in the fall of 2005 by Drew Hamblen ( SFS ’07 ) and Wyatt Gjullin ( COL ’09 ) . The hands were stolen once again during the evening between April 29 and April 30 , 2012 , and supposedly sent to Barack Obama but the hands ended up lost in the mail . More recently , the clock hands were stolen during the evening between December 9th and December 10th , 2014 , and again sometime during the night of April 30 , 2017 . Dean M . Carignan ( SFS 91 ) has written of his stealing the clock hands during his freshman year . On April 1 , 1988 , Carignan and a fellow student accessed the clock through a metal plate set into the roof at the base of the clocktower . Eventually tracked down by campus security , Carignan and his Georgetown accomplice were sentenced by a university discipline panel to an $800 fine , a 40-hour work sanction , [ and ] a year of probation . The writer Joseph Bottum has also published an account of stealing the clock hands . In the Fall of 1977 , Bottum joined Stan DeTurris , Dave Barry , and Pat Conway ( all freshmen in the class of ’81 ) to climb through a trap door on the north peak of Healy , above Gaston Hall , and steal the hands from the east face of the clock , returning them at the end of the school year to the university president , Fr . Timothy Healy , S.J . The next year , Bottum writes , he and DeTurris found another way into the attics of Healy Hall , crawling through the ducts above Riggs Library to steal the minute hands from both the east and west clock faces . Riggs Library . Riggs Library was the main library of Georgetown University from 1891 to 1970 , until being replaced by Lauinger Library . It is housed in the south tower of Healy Hall , on the third floor . Riggs Library is one of the few extant cast-iron libraries in the nation . The library still serves its original function of storing books despite its primary use as a formal event space . The librarys construction was funded by E . Francis Riggs as a memorial to his father and brother , and was supervised by architect Paul Pelz , who designed Healy Hall and the Library of Congress , although Riggs did not open until a full decade after Healy Hall opened for use .