The Assembly Hall

The Assembly Hall. . , Because the founder of Mountain Lake Park envisioned the town being a destination point for persons seeking recreation, education, cultural enrichment, and religious experiences, one of the first structures erected was an auditorium, a gathering place for classes, programs, and worship services. The term "auditorium" is used loosely in describing the very first structure, built in the summer of 1882, as it resembled a giant car port., According to the July 1882 minutes of the MLP Association, the auditorium measured 52 by 80 feet, was 16 feet high, and was supported by white oak columns spaced 10 feet apart, with the "walls" of the original structure being nothing more than curtains. A small bell was hung in a forked oak tree at the south side of the auditorium. The interior contained three rows of plank seats with back supports. The ground floor was covered with fresh-mowed hay, cut on the grounds of the Park., Then in August 1884, the Association decided to have constructed at the south end of the auditorium what the minutes referred to as a two-story "Assembly House." Its dimensions were to be 40 by 80 feet, and it would include a tower for a bell. The structure would house classrooms, dormitory spaces, and even a gymnasium on the second floor. "The windows are to be box frames hung with cords and weights," read the minutes. "The building is to be finished with two coats of good paint and the materials to be of first quality." The estimated cost was $3,100. A contract was signed in September for its construction., The following May, the builder was directed to construct a platform, measuring 9 feet wide, at each end of the building, one of which most likely being the porch that is still on the front/south side of the building today, and the other on the north side, possibly now serving as the stage in the auditorium portion of the building. The Association also purchased a 500-pound bell for $175. Then in September of that same year, the decision was made to board up the sides of the auditorium. It was not until October 1888, however, that the entire structure was officially named the Assembly Hall. Among the famous visitors to the park, who appeared either in the Assembly Hall and/or the Amphitheatre across the street, were President William H. Taft, William Jennings Bryan, Mark Twain, and Billy Sunday., The original auditorium segment was destroyed by fire in 1941, and its replacement was collapsed by heavy snow in the 1960s. The present structure is primarily of metal construction., The property was used well into the 1960s as an annual retreat location by the Mountain Lake Park Camp Meeting Association. Since the disbandment of that group, it has had a couple of different owners, the current one being the Apostolics of Oakland.