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Brownson Hall is intimately
connected to the early days of Notre Dame. The building
was constructed in 1855 as part of the convent of
the Sisters of the Holy Cross. Father Sorin, the
University’s founder, and Brother Patois, C.S.C.,
designed the original complex, which over the years
has served an amazing array of functions—dormitory,
print shop, gymnasium, kitchen, chapel, and home
to numerous organizations. Its name memorializes
the Vermonter Orestes Augustus Brownson, a philosopher,
social reformer, and leading Catholic layperson
of the mid nineteenth century. Acquaintance of Emerson,
Hawthorne, and Thoreau, Brownson published an influential
journal dealing with important social and political
issues. Known as "Old Irascible," Brownson
incurred the enmity and admiration of his contemporaries,
including President Martin Van Buren, who blamed
Brownson for his loss in the election of 1840. Brownson’s
remains were moved to the Sacred Heart Church in
the 1880s. The Nanovic Institute joined the long
list of venerable tenants in Fall 2002. |
