Hopeman Hall

Plaque memorializing Albert A. Hopeman

The A. W. Hopeman & Sons Company built the original River Campus buildings and many added later.  The Hopeman Engineering Building was opened in 1963 and was largely funded by a  bequest from the estate of the late Bertram C. Hopeman, and a gift from Mr. and Mrs. Albert A. Hopeman,   The building housed the department of  elec­trical engineering and half of the facilities for mechanical engineering.  The building was initially air conditioned using chilled water from an absorption chiller in the basement of the Administration Building.

A bridge was built to connect the fourth floor of Hopeman to the new Wegmans Hall when it opened  in 2016.

References
1925 History of the Genesee Country, Volume 4, by Lockwood Richard Doty
Pages 872-876:  Arendt W. Hopeman, also Albert and Bertram

1934 The book of the Rochester centennial
Page 22: Advertisement. A few of the many buildings of The University of Rochester A.W Hopeman & Sons Co. Builders.  Founded 1869

1958 "Bertram Hopeman, Building Company Official, 81, Dies," Democrat and Chronicle, September 29, 1958, Page 23.

1958 Bertram Cornelius Hopeman (1876-1958) Grave in Mt. Hope Cemetery

1961 "U. of R. to Construct $1.5 Million Building for Expanding Engineering Programs," Democrat and Chronicle, September 25, 1961, Page B1.

1961 "New Building Furthers Engineering Expansion," Campus Times, September 26, 1961, Page 1.

1962 "College of Engineering," Rochester Review 24(5):19 (June-July 1962)
What items do you put in the cornerstone of a building? This problem came up before University officials last month as they laid plans for the dedication of the  new $1½ million Hopeman Engineering Building. To give the collection meaning, it was decided to include objects representative of "the state of the art of engineering circa 1962"; to make it fit (engineering circa 1962 has not yet invented an elastic cornerstone box), it was necessary that the items be small. The final collection of minute memorabilia contained a tiny circuit module of the type used in modem computers, a ruby rod less than two inches long used as the core of the recently-developed optical maser, a cube of pyroceram such as is used in the nose cone of a  rocket, and miniature photo-etched mechanical parts. Also included were descriptive material on the  University and its  College of Engineering, copies of the  day's newspapers, and, as a final shiny touch, a 1962 penny.
At the dedication ceremony, Albert A.  Hopeman, Sr., chairman of the board of A.  W.  Hopeman & Sons Company, presented the new building to  the University.  A major part of the funds for the construction was contributed through a  bequest from the estate of the late Bertram C. Hopeman, and a gift from Mr. and Mrs. Albert A. Hopeman, Sr.
The four-story building, expected to be ready for occupancy by  early 1963, will house the  department of  elec­trical engineering and half of the facilities for mechanical engineering.

1962 "New Buildings Improved Services Expand U of R Facilities," University Record 2(11):6 (December, 1962)
The first Unit Air Conditioning Plant on the River Campus is being constructed on the east bank of the Genesee River in the area of the Administration Building. A service road is being built from River Boulevard to the river bank as the first step in the construction process. The plant will be capable of providing refrigeration for the air conditioning of several campus buildings. The first structure to be operated from the unit plant will be the Hopeman Engineering Building.
Main elements of the plant include a pump house near the river and refrigerating machinery in the basement of the Administration Building.
Connecting these two areas will be large water lines laid under River Boulevard with traffic being maintained on River Boulevard during construction of these lines.
If the weather remains good, chilled water lines will be installed during December under the campus from the Administration Building to the Hopeman Building. The use of a unit air conditioning plant will reduce costs of operation and maintenance, will eliminate the use of cooling towers on the roofs of campus buildings, and will provide flexibility in meeting needed cooling loads in the summer. In theory, such a system corresponds to the use of a central heating plant instead of individual boiler plants in each campus building.

1963 Albert Arendt Hopeman Sr. (1880-1963) Grave in Mt. Hope Cemetery

1963 "Albert A. Hopeman," The New York Times, April 5, 1963, Page 37.

1963 "Engineers Receive Grant:  Physical Plant Progresses," Campus Times, May 10, 1963, Page 1. | Part 2 |
The Department of Electrical Engineering will move it offices and laboratories about June 1 to the new Hopeman Hall, and the remodeling of Gavett Hall will begin shortly thereafter.

1963 "2 New UR Buildings to Open," Democrat and Chronicle, September 1, 1963, Page 2B.
Hopeman and Towers

1963 "Building to Be Dedicated; Hopeman Family Present," Campus Times, October 18, 1963, Page 1.

1977 History of the University of Rochester, 1850-1962, by Arthur J. May.  Expanded edition with notes
Chapter 37, In Pursuit of Excellence
By early autumn of 1960 the program had covered a fifth of the journey to the objective. Trustee Hoyt pledged (1959) funds for a lecture demonstration hall, and the Hopeman family of Rochester agreed to finance a new engineering building in large part.
On, May 14, 1962, the cornerstone was set for a huge four-story building for electrical and mechanical engineering, to the west of Gavett Hall; into the cornerstone were placed objects symbolical of the current state of the engineering art, descriptive materials about the University, and newspapers of the day--yes, and a shiny new penny for good luck. Conforming to River Campus design, the building was for the most part financed by the Hopeman family, general contractors for many River Campus projects, and was named the Hopeman Engineering Building.

1980 Anna M. Messner Hopeman (1888-1980) Grave in Mt. Hope Cemetery

© 2021 Morris A. Pierce