Halls
From Philomathean Society
Due to a shortage of classroom space at the University, the Society was asked in 1927 to vacate the Philomathean Halls on the fourth floor of College Hall. These rooms had been built specifically for the Philomathean and Zelosophic Societies fifty years earlier, as an enticement for the groups to move with the University to West Philadelphia. Though smaller quarters were obtained in Houston Hall, the loss was critical to the Society, and Membership and activities declined. The US declaration of war in 1941 dealt another blow to Philo, and two years later Moderator Jerome Mittelman deposited the Philo archives in the University library for safekeeping. Shortly afterwards, the Navy took over Houston Hall for training programs, and all of the Society's furniture and artifacts were lost or destroyed.
The Society, however, was kept alive by Hilary Putnam, the last Junior Member on campus who had joined the Society prior to its expulsion from Houston Hall. Putnam, who would go on to become Chairman of the Harvard Philosophy Department, tried to preserve the Philomathean customs and arranged informal meetings in Members' apartments. After the war, the Society held more formal Meetings and grew in membership, but it was not until 1951, under the direction of Junior Member Charles Fine Ludwig, that the old pre-war customs were revived. Ludwig re-acquired the Philomathean archives and began a policy of aggressively pursuing the Society's original role as an outlet for expression and exchange by its members.
The 1950s saw an increase in membership, reinstatement of the Philomathean Halls in the Hare Building (where Williams Hall currently exists), and activities which included founding the Student Tutor Society, founding High Ball humor magazine, and publishing two books of lectures sponsored by the Society. In the 1960s, the Society opened the first permanent art gallery at the University, and began publishing Era, a literary magazine currently published under the title Philomel.
In 1969, the Society at last triumphantly returned to the fourth floor of College Hall. It had been restored to resemble its original 19th century appearance, and also expanded to include the two rooms which had belonged to the now defunct Zelosophic Society. During this time, Philo also expanded its commitment to the arts by founding the Campus Performance Society and the Poetry/Fiction Series of prominent authors reading their works. Philo continued to sponsor lectures, symposia, films, and musical concerts.