Andre Hall

ce a dormitory and then academic offices, Andre Hall represents a change to the landscape of St. Edward’s. Andre Hall was a dormitory in 1958, back when St. Edward’s was still an all-male campus. The building was dedicated by clergy members of the Congregation of Holy Cross and named after Brother André Bessette, later canonized as Saint André of Montreal. It wasn’t until the 1970s that it no longer served as a dorm, and until 2018 held the offices for the School of Humanities. For years the building was having problems, such as leaking, flooding, strange smells, and asbestos in the carpet. Many professors and students were unhappy with the state of the building. Finally, the School of Humanities was moved to Holy Cross Hall, another building that has been renovated and stood the test of time, and Andre was put out of use. In the 2018 Master Plan, Andre is set to be demolished and in its place there will be a new academic building. This building is meant to replace both Andre and Moody Hall, the latter of which is being demolished under the plan as well. Much like the legacy dorms of East and Teresa, Andre Hall will no longer serve as a memory of St. Edward’s beginnings as an all-male campus. As the building goes through the process of being demolished, the Historic Landmark Commission is reviewing it to determine whether the architecture of Andre Hall is important enough to history to prevent it from being destroyed. We may not know when Andre will officially be destroyed, if it’s not deemed historically significant, but expect the building to be gone soon. While the unfavorable conditions of the building will not be missed, its history certainly will be.