Alexander Hall

Alexander Hall, one of the University's most useful buildings, was erected in 1892 as a convocation hall for commencement exercises and other large gatherings. It was given by Harriet Crocker Alexander in honor of her husband, Charles B. Alexander 1870, his father, Henry M. Alexander 1840, and his grandfather, Archibald Alexander hon. D.D. 1810, all of whom served as Princeton trustees.

During its early years the building was used for the sesquicentennial celebration, for Woodrow Wilson's inauguration as president, and for the Stafford Little Lectures given by ex-President Grover Cleveland. For thirty years freshmen were welcomed and seniors graduated in Alexander, but by 1922 commencement exercises had outgrown the building and thereafter were held in front of Nassau Hall. After Marquand Chapel burned in 1920, Alexander was used for Sunday services until the University Chapel was completed in 1929.

Designed by William A. Potter in a Romanesque style, Alexander is rich in ornate detail. Although it cannot be considered a complete success aesthetically, the big, round, granite and brownstone building has always seemed able to meet the changing needs of succeeding generations and to accommodate many different activities -- student mass meetings, political gatherings, football rallies, concerts, lectures, and speeches. Among those who have spoken from its rostrum have been Andrew Carnegie, William Jennings Bryan, Albert Einstein, Will Rogers, Eleanor Roosevelt, Norman Thomas, Adlai Stevenson, William Douglas, C. P. Snow, Madame Nu, Eugene McCarthy, George Wallace, David E. Lilienthal, and Art Buchwald.

From Alexander Leitch, A Princeton Companion, copyright Princeton University Press (1978).