Renovated Whig Hall reopens

The changes were originally proposed two years ago by the board of trustees of the American Whig-Cliosophic Society because of heating and air conditioning issues in the building, said Michael J. Mills ’73, a partner at Farewell Mills Gatsch Architects. Farewell Mills Gatsch was one of several firms involved in the renovations.

The University, after collecting feedback from students, quickly took on the project. The plans expanded to include the creation of more usable space; improvements to the envelope of the building to ease climate control; the restoration of paintings; the conversion of the building’s historic doors into a conference table; and audio-visual, lighting and acoustic enhancements, said David Howell, program manager of Princeton’s Office of Design and Construction.

Howell noted that the construction cost a total of $3.8 million.

“It’s unusual,” President Tilghman, who attended the event, said of the joint effort to plan the renovations. “There are very few examples of similar changes where we have the opportunity to collaborate with a student organization and its board.”

“The strong governance structure of the Whig-Clio society was part of the reason we could do this,” she added.

The timing was right for both the students and the University, said Steven Schoenfeld ’87, who is a trustee of Whig-Clio and was the undergraduate president of the organization in 1986.

“The University was hoping to bring the building up to code, and we were hoping to better meet the needs of the students,” he said. “The utilities and electrical systems were costing the University more than they should have, and the interior was very old and worn-down. The acoustics in the [Whig Senate] Chamber also weren’t great.”

He added that many of the changes are small-scale but will likely have a large impact on students’ experiences in the society.

Schoenfeld explained that one goal of the renovation was to reorganize the offices in Whig. “I hope that the change will facilitate more interaction between the various subsidiaries of the Whig-Clio society,” he said.

Ben Weisman ’11, current president of the society, said he now considers Whig the “best meeting place for student organizations at Princeton, if not the country, if not the world.”

The renovations will allow Whig, which Weisman called a “home of dialogue about controversial issues,” to serve the community more effectively in this capacity. Weisman is the director of national sales and directing for The Daily Princetonian.

Even before the ceremonial reopening of Whig, however, the building hosted an open debate over whether or not a chastity center should be formed at the University.

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Whig and Clio halls were first built as “wooden, neoclassical structures” in 1838, Skip Rankin ’72, chair of the Whig-Clio board of trustees, said. He explained that the current marble structures were built in 1893 in a design similar to that of the originals. The buildings were significantly renovated after a fire in 1969, and the bases and plinths of the columns by the front entrance were replaced in 1995.

Rankin said he hopes the renovations will encourage Princeton students to visit the new space and, in doing so, learn more about articulating themselves clearly and persuasively.

“I’d like to underscore that, because we need a little more of that in our society,” he said.

Many of the changes had symbolic as well as aesthetic and practical importance, said Michael Farewell GS ’80, a design partner at Farewell Mills Gatsch.

He said the choice to use higher-performance glass reflected an awareness of environmental concerns.

“The spirit of engagement, of transparency, is really at the heart of this renovation,” he said.

“I’m very pleased with how the renovations turned out,” said Alexandra Gecker ’12, alumni affairs manager of Whig-Clio and a member of the Princeton Debate Panel. “There has been a dramatic increase in open spaces and usable spaces.”

Dean of the College Nancy Malkiel, who served as the chair of the board of trustees of the society from 1974 to 1984, attended the event and said that the downstairs lounge in particular is “light-years more effective” than the previous model.

“[The changes] provide a setting in which students can follow their passions, realize their ambitions and do wonderful things to enrich their experience here,” she said. “I’m delighted to be here. It’s a wonderful day for Whig-Clio.”

Gecker added that the large number of alumni at the event who were formerly involved with Whig-Clio is a promising sign of improving relationships with former members.

“The turnout at this event is reflective of how much more Whig-Clio is going to be interactive with our alumni, and we are excited to continue growing our relationship with them,” Gecker said. She added that Whig-Clio had not been as active in reaching out to those alumni in the recent past.

Tilghman said that she was grateful to the Whig-Clio board of trustees for its significant involvement with the project, which will save the University utility costs and improve the quality of its resources.

Tilghman called the old Whig Hall “a leaky sieve of heat,” adding, “The changes will save us a lot in terms of costs over the long run. The changes to the infrastructure, which may not be as visible, are just as important as the aesthetics.”

“As you know, we were suddenly really constrained in terms of budgeting,” she said. “This has been a win-win.”

Editor's note:

An earlier version of this article stated that Howell declined to comment on the total cost of the renovations. It has since been updated to include more recently provided information.