Renovation of Lewis Recitation Hall begins at McDaniel

McDaniel College begins renovation of Lewis Recitation Hall to upgrade the college’s Economics and Business Administration department suite, including faculty and staff offices.

The renovation is planned to take place over summer 2025 and is expected to be complete for the fall 2025 semester.

Funding for the over $600,000 project is entirely supported by donors, including Professor Emeritus of Economics and Business Administration Ethan Seidel and Deborah Dale Seidel, a 1984 alum and current McDaniel trustee; James M. Lamont, a 1980 alum, and McDaniel trustee Karen Bellamy Lamont, a 1981 alum; McDaniel trustee Walter Olson and Steve Pippin, parents of 2023 alum Timothy Olson; Rand Blazer, a 1972 alum; and the late Raymond Albert, a 1962 alum, and Linda Albert.

McDaniel Provost Flavius Lilly said, “This renovation will provide our faculty and staff with a welcoming, inviting space that will truly showcases our business program and makes an incredible difference for current and future McDaniel students.”

The architect is Marshall Craft Associates, Inc., of Baltimore and the general contractor is Harvey Construction of Hunt Valley, Maryland.

Built in 1914, Lewis Recitation Hall was the first building constructed on campus following a campus plan developed by the Olmstead Brothers landscape architectural firm and is named for President Thomas Hamilton Lewis, who served as the college’s president from 1886–1920. 

An addition was completed in 1966 and the construction of Lewis Hall of Science to create science laboratories and classrooms for the Biology, Chemistry, and Physics departments occurred in 2001. Lewis Hall of Science is connected by hallways to Lewis Recitation Hall.