The items listed below are available for use in the Booth Family Center for Special Collections. Where they are also available online this is noted. Special Collections items do not circulate; request them for use in the Booth Family Center via the Aeon request system.
University Archives staff maintain reference files on a variety of subjects related to Georgetown University history, including on Healy Hall. These files contain photocopies of newspaper and magazine articles, brochures, and other documents found in the University Archives collection. They are intended to provide a starting point for research rather than to offer exhaustive coverage of any subject but they can often provide the answers to basic informational questions. In addition to general files on Healy Hall, the Archives also maintain reference files on its component parts, e.g. Riggs Library, Gaston Hall, etc., as well as on Father Patrick Healy.
Healy Hall is considered on pages 188 to 234 of Commission of Fine Arts and Historic American Buildings Survey. Georgetown Architecture, Northwest Washington, District of Columbia, Historic Buildings Survey Selections Number 10, 1970.
Curran, Robert Emmett. A history of Georgetown University. Washington, D.C. : Georgetown University Press, 2010
A three volume set, this is the most comprehensive University history. Volume 1 covers 1789-1889, volume 2 covers 1889-1964, and volume 3 covers 1964-1989. Pages 304-310 of volume 1 discuss the construction of Healy Hall. This publication is available in Lauinger Library's general stacks as well as in the Booth Family Center for Special Collections.
Shea, John Gilmary. Memorial of the first centenary of Georgetown College, D.C., comprising a history of Georgetown University. Washington, D.C., New York, Pub. for the College by P.F. Collier, 1891
This book was published to celebrate Georgetown’s 100th anniversary. It lacks a back-of-the-book index or footnotes. Its contents are arranged chronologically, with each of its chapters covering the term of one Georgetown president. Chapter XXVIII, pages 248-284, covers Father Healy’s presidency and includes references to the construction of Healy Hall. This publication is available in Lauinger Library's general stacks as well as in the Booth Family Center for Special Collections.
Durkin, Joseph T. Georgetown University: the middle years, 1840-1900. Washington, Georgetown University Press, 1963
This publication was published to coincide with the University’s 175th anniversary. Chapter VII, Building a University (II) describes the construction of Healy Hall. This publication is available in Lauinger Library's general stacks as well as in the Booth Family Center for Special Collections.
Nevils, W. Coleman. Miniatures of Georgetown, 1634-1934; tercentennial causeries. Washington, D.C., Georgetown University Press, 1934
This work was published by Father Nevils towards the end of his presidency. He served as University President from 1928-1935 and his association with Georgetown began in 1918 when he was appointed Dean of the College of Arts and Science. His book contains detailed and colorful stories about aspects of the University’s history but has no footnotes or bibliography. Its index contains several references to the “Healy Building.” This publication is available in Lauinger Library's general stacks as well as in the Booth Family Center for Special Collections.
Renzulli, Jeffrey. "The Healy Building: Instilling a Belief in Georgetown University." In Durkin, Joseph, S.J., ed. Swift Potomac's lovely daughter : two centuries at Georgetown through students' eyes. Washington, D.C. : Georgetown University Press, 1990, pages 405-419. The full-text of this publication is available through DigitalGeorgetown
Articles in the Georgetown College Journal, 1872-1920
The College Journal was the first printed newspaper produced by Georgetown students. A monthly publication, it is a combination of student newspaper, literary publication, and alumni bulletin. It contains articles about the building’s construction, as well as events held in it.
Physical volumes are available for use in the Booth Family Center for Special Collections.
Digitized issues can be browsed and searched via DigitalGeorgetown. The Date Created facet in blue on the right side of the screen (scroll down to see it) can be used to limit to a particular time period. To search within any item on a list of search results: click on the title in blue, then click on the blue ViewOpen link at the top of the screen, then hold down the control and f keys on the keyboard at the same time, and enter a search term in the box which appears in the top right corner.
Note when formulating searches that the name Healy Hall was first used in 1900. Prior to that the building was referred to as the New Building (in the 1870s-1890s), the College Building (1870s-1890s) or the Main Building (in the 1890s.) Additionally, Healy Hall was also commonly known as the Healy Building through the 1970s. Use quotation marks to search on any of the building names. A search on New Building will find articles that contain those two words but not necessarily articles where the words appear together but a search on “New Building” will only bring back results for that specific phrase.
Articles in The Washington Post
The Washington Post provides surprisingly detailed coverage of happenings on campus, particularly in the late 19th and early to mid 20th centuries. It includes articles about Healy Hall’s construction, as well as about events held in the building. The Georgetown University Library offers digital access to the Post’s historic archives (scroll down and select that publication from the list) which cover the period 1877 through 1994.
Find tips about effective searching given changes in the building’s name over time in the Georgetown College Journal section above. When searching in the Post's historic archives, use the Advanced Search option and enter Georgetown in one search box and the building name in another. The Sorted By dropdown list (on the left side of the screen) can be used to sort the results in chronological order or you can use the bar graph below to limit results to a specific decade or even year within a decade.
Note that off-site access to the Post’s digital archives is limited to those who can authenticate via their GOCards. If you do not have a GOCard (which is the official identification card at Georgetown University), you cannot access the Post archives from off-campus.
Articles in Woodstock Letters
Woodstock College, a Jesuit Seminary in Maryland, and the Maryland Province of the Society circulated Woodstock Letters among Jesuits and their institutions between 1872 and 1969. The publication includes articles on events, institutions and people, as well as historical pieces. There is an index and this includes at least two references to the Healy Hall. To find these references, navigate to the Washington, D.C. section of the index, then to the Georgetown University heading within that section and scan for references to new building or Healy Hall.
Woodstock Letters has been made available online by the Jesuit Archives & Research Center. To access the index online, click on the Index document in the center of the screen - this is the first document shown under the introductory text on the landing page. By clicking on the Index document, you will be able to access the entire index volume. Scroll through the pages or perform a control f search (hold down the control and f keys on your keyboard at the same time and enter a search term in the search box which appears to the top left of your screen) to navigate to relevant references. You can also navigate to specific pages using the page count box at the top left - note that the page numbers given in that box are for the PDF document, include the cover page, and therefore do not exactly sync with the page numbers of the physical volume. You can see the physical page numbers at the top left of each page.
To move from the index to the articles being indexed, take note of the two numbers which appear after each topic in the index. The first number given is the volume number, the second is the page number within that volume. Navigate to a needed volume by selecting it from the list of volumes in blue on the left side of the landing page. You will automatically be taken to the cover page of that volume in the center of the screen - note that it will not necessarily be the top volume on the page but the one you are taken to. Click on the cover page to access the contents. You can use the control f search to navigate within the volume or use the page count box at the top left.
Physical volumes of the Woodstock letters are available for use in the University Archives; request them via the Aeon request system - start with the index.
Articles in The Hoya, 1920-present
Digitized issues from 1920-1939 and 1959-1980 can be browsed and searched via DigitalGeorgetown. Physical copies from 1920 to the present are available for use in the Booth Family Center for Special Collections. Note that there is no index for the physical volumes. Issues from 1998 onward can be searched on The Hoya’s website. The search box is found under the About Us tab at the top of the landing page.
Articles in the Georgetown Voice, 2001-present
Issues from 2001 onward can be searched on the Voice’s web site. The search icon is found at the top right of the landing page. Physical copies from 1969 to present are available for use in the Booth Family Center for Special Collections. Note that there is no index for the physical volumes.
Hardy George. “Georgetown University’s Healy Building,” Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians, volume 31, no. 3 (October 1972): pages 208-216
In addition to discussing the architectural design of Healy Hall, this article begins with biographical information about the building’s architects, John L. Smithmyer and Paul J. Peltz.
Durkin, Joseph T., S.J. “Healy Hall: Harbinger of Change,” Georgetown University Annual Report, 1979
1979 marked the 100th anniversary of the first use of Healy Hall (the 1879 Commencement was held in the unfinished building on June 26, 1879 with President Rutherford Hayes in attendance.) Father Durkin's four-page illustrated essay charts the course of the building’s planning and construction.
Freiberg, Nancy. “Tales of Healy,” Georgetown Magazine, spring/summer 2006: pages 18-29
This article considers the reasons for Healy Hall's construction and also the impact it has had on campus. Included are brief sections on Gaston Hall, Riggs Library, the Philodemic Room, and Healy Basement.
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