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Constructed in 1881 to serve as the home of Western Reserve College in Cleveland, Adelbert Hall has been the main administrative building for the University for over 100 years. Named in memory of Adelbert Stone, the son of industrialist Amasa Stone and brother of Flora Stone Mather, Adelbert Hall was a three-story building, with an attic and a basement. At the dedication of the building in the fall of 1882, Rutherford B. Hayes delivered an address and the students sang a hymn, written by Charles H. Hitchcock the son of former president Henry R. Hitchcock. The first two stanzas were:
Here now we raise the walls,
Reared up in learning's noble name;
Forever standing in these halls.
O may she fan the mystic flame.
And may the lamps here taking light,
Forever burning clear and true,
Dispel the darkness from the night,
Which often shrouds our feeble view.
In June 1991, Adelbert Hall, the building that once housed Adelbert College and was on the National Register of Historic Places, fell victim to a raging fire that consumed the 100-year-old structure. President Pytte told Adelbert Hall employees the morning after the fire, "It's a sad day for the University, but we are going to bounce back." With the support of the administration and trustees, plans for the reconstruction began immediately. The reconstruction of Adelbert Hall included the preservation of the exterior stone walls, while the building was reconstructed "from the inside out" to preserve as much of the historical quality of Adelbert as possible. It is a new building constructed inside the old building's shell. Completed in 1993, the reconstruction was a success architecturally and aesthetically-Adelbert Hall was restored. Almost.
The fourth floor of Adelbert Hall--originally attic space--remained unfinished until the spring of 2001 when it was transformed into the hub of Case Western Reserve University's philanthropic services. The renovated fourth floor contains 11 offices, a state-of-the-art conference room, catering kitchen, and restroom. Renamed the Castele Atrium, in thanks to the generous support from Theodore and Jean Castele, the fourth floor of Adelbert Hall now serves as a prime gathering area for alumni visiting the campus, particularly those engaged in philanthropy. Ted Castele has been involved with fundraising for the University for several decades. He received his B.S. in chemistry from Adelbert College in 1951 and then received his M.D. from the School of Medicine in 1957. Dr. Castele served on the CWRU Board of Trustees since 1981 and received the University's highest honor, the University Medal, in 1998.
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