Daemen College celebrated the historic landmark dedication of its Rosary Hall Tuesday. The building's unique architecture and history in Amherst helped land the accreditation.
“The institution began as Rosary Hill College in 1947 and it was only one building. This was it. The first 44 students all women studied for college degrees and as you know this was a rare opportunity at the time. The building originally in 1912 was created as the Crouche-Waite mansion and was created by George Cary, one of the most prominent Buffalo architects in the early 20th century,” said Daemen College President Gary Olson.
Rosary Hall then served as a residence for the college’s founding sisters of St. Francis of Penance and Christian Charity. Today, the building houses the Daemen Office of Admissions and the Office of Institutional Advancement.
Olson says Rosary Hall’s Italian Renaissance Revival style features gold leaf ceilings and French doors and windows.
“There are several marble fireplaces that I understand are hand carved. It has just gorgeous rooms. There’s one solarium sunroom that’s just full of light and panned windows. There’s a lot of detail, which at the time you had in these magnificent houses a lot of hand carvings and attention to detail that you just don’t have in buildings today,” said Olson.
The building is now one of two deemed historic on the Amherst campus. Olson says the historic landmark designation is a proud moment for the college.
“It means a real lot to us, because we believe that we’ve played a major role in Amherst and western New York for many, many decades. And we think that this honors that history that we’re so proud of here. We’re approaching our 70th anniversary and this is a really nice reminder of our long history here,” Olson said.
Olson says anyone interested in visiting Rosary Hall and its unique architecture is welcome to do so.