Historic
Tour > Virtual Tour > Pray-Harrold
Pray-Harrold
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Pray-Harrold
(earlier)
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Pray-Harrold
(present)
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Historical
Name(s): Pray-Harrold
Date
Constructed: Built 1969
Architect:
Swanson and Associates
Style
of Architecture: International
Original
Use: Classroom and office space
Dates
of Renovation: Unknown
Current
Use: Classrooms and Office of the
Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences,
Department of African American Studies, Department
of Computer Science, Department of Economics,
Department of English Language and Literature,
Department of History and Philosophy, Institute
for Diversity and Business Services, Department
of Mathematics, Department of Political Science,
Department of Sociology, Anthropology, and
Criminology.
History:
When it opened in 1969, Pray-Harrold was said
to be one of the largest
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Carl
Esek Pray
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Charles
F. Harrold
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classroom buildings
in the United States. It had been built with
an appropriation from the State Legislature
for $5.6 million. The exterior was designed
to match the architecture of the University
Library and other buildings around the central
part of campus. The seven-story building accommodated
4,500 students each hour in its 75 classrooms
and four lecture halls. Fully air-conditioned,
the structure provided office space for 407
faculty members. Functionally, the building
was designed with the most heavily used areas,
the classrooms and lecture halls, on the first
four floors while the offices were located on
the top three floors.
Pray-Harrold
was named after Carl Esek Pray
and Charles F. Harrold. Carl
Pray was the extremely popular head of the
Social Science and History Department, 1914-38.
One senior class was so fond of “Daddy
Pray” that they commissioned a bust,
which remains in the archives of the Halle
Library. Twice the school yearbook, the Aurora,
was dedicated to him. Pray always
cared about foreign students, and formed classes,
called “Immigration Classes,”
to help them get comfortable in the United
States. In 1944 citizens of Ypsilanti voted
him an Outstanding Citizen of Ypsilanti in
1944. He was described as a delightful storyteller
to young children, and wrote two articles
designed for children, “The Art of Story
Telling,” and “What Are the Best
Stories for Children?” He died in 1949.
Pray shares
the building title with Charles F. Harrold,
professor of English Literature, 1925-43.
A biographer described Harrold as “a
lecturer of great clarity and charm, often
holding his students spellbound.” Harrold
was known internationally for his work on
Carlyle and on Cardinal Newman.
Today, the
building remains devoted to classroom and
office space.
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Location
of Pray-Harrold (Click on the image
for a bigger view)
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