Ambrose Hall, located in Davenport, Iowa, United States, is the first building constructed on the campus of St. Ambrose University. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1977.
Ambrose Hall, located in Davenport, Iowa, United States, is the first building constructed on the campus of St. Ambrose University. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1977.
History
St. Ambrose University was founded in 1882 by John McMullen, the first bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Davenport. The school initially held classes in two classrooms in the school building at St. Margaret's Cathedral. The desire, however, was for the school to have a campus and a building of its own.
The school was formally incorporated as a "seminary" in 1885, however, its mission was never exclusively considered as a place that trained future priests. Instead, it was considered a "Catholic school for advanced studies". Courses were taught in the humanities, sciences and in business as well as theology. The school, in a sense, pioneered the concept of educating future priests and allowing them to reside with young men who they might serve one day as their parish priests. It was typical at that time to cloister seminarians at an early age away and educating them separately from other people. The institution's name was changed to St. Ambrose College in 1908 and St. Ambrose University in 1987.
