Rebekah Scott Hall Chronology and Conditions Assessment

Rebekah Scott Hall east facade (1905-06, Morgan & Dillon), Agnes Scott College, Decatur, GA

Designed by renowned Atlanta architect Thomas H. Morgan of Morgan & Dillon, Rebekah Scott Hall was constructed in the Italian Renaissance Revival style. The second oldest permanent building on the Agnes Scott College campus in Decatur, Georgia, “Rebekah” was slated for extensive rehabilitation in 2014. APPS was selected as the historic preservation consulting firm for the project.

Contractors Donaldson & Pierson began construction of the load-bearing brick building with limestone accents in June 1905. It was dedicated on May 30, 1906, and the first students moved in during September of that year. Notable architectural features include two cupolas, seven chimneys, a wrap-around verandah with star-patterned balustrade, decorative eave brackets, and a double front-entrance door with leaded glass sidelights and a four-lite arched fanlight. The ground floor historically housed the dining hall, kitchen, chapel, meeting rooms, and parlors, while the upper two floors were dormitories. Today the dormitories remain upstairs, but the ground floor now has a central lobby, the Katherine Woltz Reception Room, and the College Admissions, Development, and Marketing & Public Relations offices.

For the project, Laura Drummond of APPS with Jean Spencer, paint conservator, investigated the building, taking photographs, and collecting mortar and paint samples. Paint analysis was performed by Frank Welsh of Welsh Color & Conservation, Inc., while David Arbogast of Arbogast Mortar Analysis tested the mortar and stucco samples. Laura’s report included a building description, a building chronology, an assessment of the exterior conditions, and prioritized maintenance recommendations.

The award-winning rehabilitation of Rebekah was done by Jenkins·Peer Architects of Charlotte, NC. In 2018, the building won the Georgia Trust for Historic Preservation Chairman’s Award for Excellence in Sustainable Rehabilitation, and received LEED Platinum Certification. In 2020, Rebekah received the North Carolina AIA Tower Award.