Log on
Apply | Contact Us | Give a Gift | VU Home | Site Index | Text only
Villanova in the Twenties

1920-1932

"It is human to feel natural affection. To show no emotion is the mark of an imperfect human being."

St. Augustine
City of God, 14.9

Villanova flourished during the prosperous years of the 1920's, with student enrollment soaring from just over 300 in 1921 to over 1000 ten years later. In order to accommodate its growing numbers the college built Austin Hall in 1923-1924, which contained a new library, in addition to rooms for upper classmen. Taking note of the latest technology, Villanova offered its first radio course in 1920 and erected its first radio station in 1925.In 1921 it established a School of Commerce and Finance and in 1928 it opened the Villanova Night School. Student Social life flourished with dances in the Alumni Hall gymnasium and hotel ballrooms downtown. Football received a great boost with the construction of a stadium in 1927.Several buildings, which had been planned during the last years of prosperity, were executed just as the Great Depression was settling across the land. These were the Commerce and Finance building (now Vasey Hall) and a large Field House (later called "Jake" Nevin Field House). This period ended with two huge fires, one in the winter of 1928, which severely damaged Main College Hall, and the other in the summer of 1932, which destroyed the Augustinian Monastery.

Link to Exhibit Items

 

The information and/or photographs on these pages are not to be republished or reproduced in any format without written consent of Villanova University Archives, Villanova Pennsylvania. All rights are reserved.