Other items will grace the new lobby on a
more permanent basis: memorials to the
prep alums who gave their lives fighting
for our country, the prepbuilders plaque
recalling the generosity of those who sustained the prep during the legal separation from the university and move to Shea Hall, and a weatherworn metal cross
excavated from the vault not so long ago by the prep’s very
own madam Bursar, mrs. Debra DiDomizio. in a way, there
could be no more perfect place for that old cross than the
brand new lobby, because that particular cross has been associated with prep entranceways for a long, long time: 125
years, to be exact. naturally, you will be wondering how we
have determined the artifact’s age so precisely.
On our way to Fordham’s 175th on June 24th, the feast of
the nativity of St. John the Baptist, we should probably take
a moment to remember that the 2015-2016 school year
also marks the 125th anniversary of Hughes Hall, the
home of Fordham prep from 1890 to 1972. To echo the
sentiments of Archivist emeritus gus Stellwag, Class of
1949, and many a pre-Shea Hall alum: “for those who spent their
four years of high school in Hughes Hall, no newer construction
could ever replace the sights and sounds that only that building
could possess — the high-ceilinged halls, the creaking, polished
floors, the wide main staircase with the center of each tread
curved and worn under the scuffling of millions of adolescent
footsteps.”
ground was broken for Hughes Hall in December 1889 and the
structure was completed and opened in the fall of 1890. in the
contemporary words of Thomas gaffney Taaffe, Class of 1886:
[it is] of the same quality stone [as Dealy Hall], and
finished in hard wood. The gymnasium, reading room,
and Billiard room are on the First Floor; the Study Hall
and Vice president’s Office on the Second, the office
having been moved from the First Division Building on
the completion of the newer edifice. The third and
fourth stories are occupied as classrooms and the
Dormitory, respectively.
Despite popular belief, Hughes Hall was not the original home
of the prep, or the Second Division of St. John’s College, as the
school was first known. in the 1840s, all prep and College offices,
classrooms, and even dorms were housed together in what is
today the university’s Administration Building (now known as
Cunniffe House, named for mo Cunniffe, prep Class of 1950).
Around 1850, an extension was added which connected to a threestory addition that would become the Second Division Building:
the prep’s first distinct home. in fact, it was the prep’s outgrowing
of this wing a few decades later that would prompt Hughes’
construction.
Hughes Hall was not originally known as
Hughes Hall at all. When it first opened,
it was simply called Junior Hall (in contrast to the main College building, Senior Hall [today, Dealy Hall]). it was also
known colloquially as “Second Division Building.” in 1899, it
was renamed Jouin Hall in honor of Fr. Louis A. Jouin, SJ
(1818-1899), linguist, philosopher, author and longtime
professor at Fordham. Only a decade or so into the 20th
century would the building be rededicated as Hughes Hall.
A metal crucifix originally hung over the front door of
the building. Over time, the elements would take their toll,
and the attached corpus would be damaged beyond repair leaving a simple metal cross behind. That cross would
leave an indelible mark on collective campus memory —
all subsequent refurbishments of that Hughes Hall
entrance have somehow included a nod to it —
remarkable, considering how small a detail it was.
even today, as the home of the gabelli School of
Business (named for mario gabelli, prep Class of 1961),
what was the old main door to the prep is marked with cross
carved beneath the words Hughes Hall. How fortunate we are
that Fr. Shea had the presence of mind to tuck the original away
when it came down in the 20th century.
As Fordham approached its 50th anniversary 125 years ago, the
boys of Fordham prep were ready to start classes in their newly
opened Second Division Building. However, when they arrived at
the start of the exciting 1890-1891 school year, they found that
construction was not quite finished. From that year’s first issue
of the Fordham monthly:
At College once again fellow-students! We greet you and
extend to you our heartiest good wishes for 1890. Although
“Second” did not immediately on their return hither-ward
make the new Building their habitat, and although they had
to use First Division gymnasium as a stop-gap for a time,
they never lost their good nature orsportiveness and without
any conceit they can extend to themselves the encouraging
hand of congratulations.
125 years later, and what do the prepsters of today think of
their new lobby? According to panayiotis nicolas, prep Class of
2016, “it was rough at first coming in and out of the building with
all the construction, but it was really cool watching it all come
together.” To which his classmate and fellow senior Jerrin
Kakkanatt added, “Totally worth the wait!”
it seems that the more things change, the more they stay the
same after all.
cross at the entrance: 3
Spring / Summer 2016 | 23