Recitation Hall

University of Delaware Archives and Records Management
Circa 1900

As class sizes grew and the college’s financial status stabilized with the infusion of Federal and state funding, the need for more buildings increased. Recitation Hall, designed by Philadelphia architect Frank Furness, was completed in 1892. The building housed offices, classrooms, a new auditorium, and the college’s library. Just north of this building, a smaller structure was erected in 1888 as the laboratory of the Agriculture Experiment Station. Today, this structure is known as Recitation Annex. Buildings were added at the rear of the campus to house military science courses, although Delaware College was still without a dedicated gymnasium during the 1890s.