Lattimore Hall

Lattimore Annex during 1970s renovation

Ground was broken for Lattimore Hall  on May 21, 1927.   The building opened in October 1930 on the north side of Eastman Quadrangle to house the chemistry department.  It was named for Samuel Allan Lattimore, Professor of Chemistry from 1867 to 1908.  He was also acting President of the University from 1896 to 1898.  .Lattimore died in Rochester on February 17, 1913 and is buried in Mr. Hope Cemetery.  

An annex was added to the north side of the building in 1949. The chemistry department completed moving into the new Hutchison Hall in 1973, and Lattimore was extensively remodeled for classrooms and offices between December 1972 and March 1975.

References
1872 Report to the Water Commissioners on the Chemical and Sanitary Quality of the Various Sources of Water Supply proposed for the City of Rochester, N. Y., September 2, 1872, by Samuel A. Lattimore, Professor of Chemistry in the University of Rochester.

1876 Annual report of the Executive Board in charge of the Department of Water Works, Fire, Highway and Street Improvement for the year 1876 to the mayor and Common Council of the city of Rochester, N.Y.  January, 1877
Pages 108-119: Report to the Executive Board of the City of Rochester, N.Y.: on the recent peculiar condition of the Hemlock Lake water supply, by S A Lattimore

1913 "Samuel Allan Lattimore," The New York Times, February 23, 1913, Page 76.

1913 Samuel Allan Lattimore (1828-1913) grave in Mt. Hope Cemetery

1927 Rochester, the making of a university, by Jesse Leonard Rosenberger, with an introduction by President Rush Rhees.
Page 163:  In July, 1867, the board, on motion of President Anderson, appointed Samuel A. Lattimore, a graduate of Indiana Asbury University (now DePauw), professor of chemistry and and interim professor of geology. Under “Chemical Laboratory,” the catalogue for 1867-68 announced: "Important improvements have been recently made in the facilities for the instruction of undergraduates in general chemistry. An additional room [in the basement of Anderson Hall] has also been provided and furnished with the requisite apparatus for the use of those who may wish to pursue a more extended course of theoretical and practical chemistry by conducting their own experiments and investigations. Special students will be admitted in the laboratory for instruction in the theory and practice of chemical analysis, qualitative and quantitative, the applications of chemistry to the mechanic arts, the assay of ores, etc." With that beginning, Professor Lattimore built up and maintained, through forty-one years of service, a strong department of chemistry. He retired on July 1, 1908.

1949 "Well-Known Scientists to Attend Dedication of New Chemistry Wing," Campus, October 14, 1949, Page 3.

1949 "Chemistry Laboratory Dedication Draws Nation's Top Scientists," Rochester Review 11(2):18 (December 1949-January 1950)

1973 "UR to Consolidate Offices," Campus Times, February 14, 1973, Page 9.
The College of Education and a variety of student services will move to Lattimore Hall in the fall of 1974, Donald Pearson, UR Director of Planning and Institutional Studies, stated during a recent CT interview.
Pearson outlined a number of similar moves, all in the late planning stage, which he hopes will serve to "centralize the functions of the University into a more efficient and convenient structure."
The College of Education will be relocated into one building in lieu of its present spread over three areas. In addition, the offices of the College of Arts and Science, Academic Advising, and the Equal Opportunity Program, all now located on the third floor of Morey Hall, will move to Lattimore.
A Dispensary in Lattimore will replace the River Campus Health Service, which is now located in the Hill Residence Center. This "stop-in" service will serve the same functions as does the present Infirmary, with the exception of bed-rest.
The offices of the Bursar and the Registrar, now located in the  Administration Building, will move to Morey Hall in order for students to have more convenient access to them.
Along with the building of Wilson Commons, which will be located on Morey Lawn next to the Men's Dining Center, these moves are expected to coordinate the various services of the University with student life and activity in a more cohesive and integrated manner. Present staff, which are scattered throughout academic and residential buildings, will be centrally located for more efficient use.
Remodeling work on Lattimore, involving a modular design sysem which Pearson hopes will provide m ore flexibility over the years, will begin in the near future. A cost estimate for the remodeling is not yet available.

1974 "Lattimore Hall Renovations to Finish in December," Campus Times, September 23, 1974, Page 1.
The complete interior renovation of Lattimore Hall is expected to be completed this December. Formerly the chemistry building. Lattimore will house the College of Education, the dean-of the College of Arts and Sciences, Academic Advising, and the Equal Opportunity Program.
The renovation involves tearing out the old wet-labs and converting the space to offices and meeting rooms. Several general classrooms for the College of-Education will be provided. in addition to a large lecture hall. The interior will have dry wall. painted partitions, a brick entrance-way, air-conditioning, new lighting. and a new elevator.
"The facade will he unchanged, to maintain the configuration of the quad." said Burl Stout. University Plant Construction Engineer. The rear wing is being modernized. however, by the installation of insulated windows, all the quad tunnels will he open this year so that it will be possible for a student to cross the quad underground.. Last winter Lattimore was closed off from Morey Hall because of the the construction.
The renovation of Lattimore has been underway since April of 1973 when demolition began, while the actual modernization started last November. If all work continues on schedule the new occupants will move into the Lattimore offices between semesters.
"By having the College of Education which is currently spread out over several buildings, and the College of Arts and Sciences located in the same building," said Don Pearson. Director of Planning and Institutional Studies, "they will be able to run programs of joint interest more efficiently."

1975 "Building to Reopen After Three Years," Campus Times, January 21, 1975, Page 1.

1977 History of the University of Rochester, 1850-1962, by Arthur J. May.  Expanded edition with notes
Chapter 33, The First Century Ends
Following lengthy debate, the trustees authorized the erection of a five-story extension on the northern end of Lattimore Hall. Work space was provided for eight senior staff members and about fifty graduate students or post-doctoral fellows engaged in investigations inorganic or physical chemistry. A specialized library was installed on the top floor, and there the editorial offices of the Journal of the American Chemical Society, the most widely circulated publication of its kind, were eventually located.
Far the greater cost of the construction and equipment of the new wing, which as usual soared well beyond expectations, was borne by industrial firms and individuals who mostly chose to remain anonymous. Ceremonies of dedication were conducted on October 25, 1949, in connection with a meeting of the National Academy of Sciences, an elite society of 450 to which Dean George H. Whipple and Professor Wallace O. Fenn of the Medical Center and chemist W. Albert Noyes, Jr., then belonged.

2008 "Samuel Allan Lattimore," Epitaph 28(2):1-4 (Spring 2008)

© 2021 Morris A. Pierce