Highland Hall
Highland Hall is an important architectural, historical and cultural asset in Blair County. Constructed circa 1860 as a seminary, it has served as a girl’s school, radio school during World War II and as County offices. Constructed with limestone mined on site, Highland Hall was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1978. The property sat vacant for over a decade before being renovated into a 65 and older affordable housing facility. Highland Hall is home to a “Bicentennial Moon Tree”. This sycamore tree, planted on site in 1976, is from a seed that was carried to the moon and back aboard Apollo XIV.
Steel framing was required to accommodate the open community spaces planned at the ground floor level. The building’s historic central core, which included a large fireplace, double wooden staircases and a cupola were repaired as needed to maintain the original structure. Replacement of the original east and west wings was required due to structural damage. The design team collaborated to approximate the original structure with modern construction methods and used more modern-looking materials on the additions.
