The Little Building That Could

The structure just dedicated as the Elliot and Roslyn Jaffe History of Art Building began its existence on campus as the chapter house of the Phi Delta Theta fraternity. It was designed by Oswin Weinburger Shelly, who matriculated in the special course in architecture at Penn with the Class of 1894. It was constructed in 1900 in the modified Collegiate Gothic style using hard burnt brick and sandstone, trimmed with Indiana limestone. In 1924 the building was bought by the University and became an administrative building housing the office of the University Recorder, the Alumni Records Office and the University Placement Service.

Over the years the building was later home to various departments including some from GSFA, including the Graduate Group in Energy Management and Policy, that shared the three-story structure. It has now been restored, renovated and enlarged, increasing its total space by 4,000 sq. ft. The new wing extends over a pre-existing foundation left from Horn & Hardart (to which the house was once attached on its west end). Now fully accessible with an elevator, it has a student lounge, graduate research suites, a Teaching Assistants' Conference Room and student lockers in the reclaimed basement. Though faculty have smaller offices, there is much more space for servicing students than when the SAS-based History of Art department was located in GSFA's Meyerson Hall, according to Dr. Michael Meister, the department chair. He described the new wing as "a respectful transition" to the old building and to Van Pelt Library, in whose shadow its rests. The new wing's firestair made it possible to open up a handsome old staircase that had been lost to view. The two fireplaces have been restored and the much-admired oval room on the first floor has become a conference room.

The classrooms are now equipped to accommodate modern, state-of-the-art computer technology for use now and in the future. The project architect, Sam Olshin, C '82 and GSFA '86, from Tony Atkins & Associates Architects, said the transformation was quite a challenge because it was a combination of restoration, renovation and new construction -- all within a few feet of one another. Oak and chestnut paneling was restored on the first floor, while the upstairs hallways were given a more contemporary look.

It is fitting that this building bear the name Jaffe, an SAS spokesman said, for Elliot Jaffe remembers starting his job search there before his graduation from Wharton in 1949. Then-Placement Director E. Craig Sweeten, for whom Penn's alumni center is named, talked up Macy's executive training program, where Mr. Jaffe's career in retailing began. After 13 years at Macy's, Mr. Jaffe and his wife, Roslyn -- who had been at Gimbel's -- founded their well-known Dress Barn.

The little house never really had a name after Phi Delt left it. But it has one now: As Trustee Saul Steinberg said at the recent campaign celebration on September 23, "This unique and irreplaceable building will be named for the unique and irreplaceable Elliot and Roslyn Jaffe," whose funding provided renovations and a new wing.

Mr. Jaffe has also served as an Overseer of the School of Arts and Sciences and as a member of the History of Art Visiting Committee. As the resolution voted by the Trustees in September put it more formally:

"The beneficence of Elliot S. and Roslyn S. Jaffe has elevated one of the University of Pennsylvania's most lauded departments and enlivened a distinguished piece of campus architecture. Through their support, the neo-Tudor structure at 3400 Walnut Street has been renovated and expanded, providing a permanent home for the Department of the History of Art. Within its restored walls, generations of students will be awakened to the fundamental role and place of art in our civilization, paralleling the building's own centrality on campus."

Above: The Jaffe Building as seen from the east.

Below, the new wing on the western face.

At the dedication, Department Chair Michael Meister, Former Chair Renata Holod, Roslyn Jaffe, Judith Rodin, Elliot Jaffe and Dean Rosemary Stevens.