Weckesser Hall

Weckesser Hall. Remembering Agnes: 50 Years After The Flood. , Weckesser Hall was built from 1914 to 1916 for Frederick J. Weckesser. Weckesser was a philanthropist and the vice president of the Board of Trustees of Wilkes College. The building was designed by architect Charles P. H. Gilbert who also designed the house of Frank W. Woolworth. It is an example of the then popular "Beaux-Arts" style of architecture in the United States, and is one of the few remaining in Wilkes Barre to retain this style. Wilkes [C]ollege acquired the building in 1956 when Mr. Weckesser died, and housed regular administrative meetings. Today it is used mostly as an administrative building. The garage on the property is known as Weckesser Annex, and is used as a classroom with offices located above the annex., After Hurricane Agnes flooded the first floor of Weckesser, essential student and graduate records were carried to the second floor to protect them, while others went through an extensive drying out process. "Operation Snapback" began with a command center in the parking lot behind Weckesser Hall, with Dr. Michelini, the [then] current president of Wilkes, at the helm of organizing the cleanup efforts. Wilkes faculty, staff, and students were assigned certain tasks, such as continuing the summer session, cleaning up campus buildings, and raising funds. The cost to clean up Weckesser Hall was estimated to be around $300,000. There is still a watermark on the inside of the first floor outside of Paul Adam's office., President Richard Nixon visited campus on September 9th to present Dr. Michelini with a $4 million check. When the college opened in the fall, they received the largest group of new students to ever enter the college.