St. James Hall

Historical Overview

As part of the “Emmanuel of Tomorrow” expansion plan, a vision for the construction of a new faculty house was developed for the Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur. After preliminary discussions it was decided to create a Gothic style structure that was to be added onto the Administration building. Plans were developed by Maginnis and Walsh. Its construction released space in the Administration building for college purposes, including the expansion of the College Library and Department Offices.

Over the decades, the structure served primarily as a convent for the Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur, though it did serve as the Offices of the Facilities Office before the convent closed in 1997. In the late 1990s and 2000s, St. James Hall served as a student residence hall where the roof porch was known as a location for luaus, clambakes, class meetings, and mocktail parties. In July 2007, in preparation for the construction of the College's new Academic Science Center, St. James Hall was demolished.

Ghost Story

The Man in the Window

In 1994, some students were crossing campus to go to the library. It was a clear and cold night. One of them in the group was gazing up at the stars and was trying to pick out the big dipper when she noticed that there was a figure standing in one of the fourth floor windows. Security rarely went up there so it was unlikely a guard. She had her friends look up and see if they saw what she saw, and they too saw the apparition in the window. The moon-light showed a face that appeared to be male, then it disappeared. They went instantly to security to report it, but when security went to investigate they found nothing. For the rest of the semester, many students reported to have seen the strange occurrence.

The Roommate Ghost

A student living on the fourth floor came home late one night. She didn't want to wake up her roommate, so she left the lights off and quickly got ready for bed. As she was lying in bed she heard a cough, so she looked over at her roommate's bed and saw an unknown girl that was standing at the foot of her bed and looking at her. Then the phone rang; she reached down to pick it up and it was her roommate calling to tell her that she would not be there that night as she was staying with her boyfriend. When she looked back up the girl was gone. She never knew who the girl was or what she wanted. From time to time she would return to her room, and discovered things had been moved in the room, even when her roommate was not in the dormitory.

St. James Hall Opened

1957

Convent Closed 1997

1997

St. James Hall Demolised