A man stands looking over the side of Brandt Bridge in this 6"x4.5" black and white photograph. The stone and cement bridge traverses a gully with some water ponded under the bridge. A path from the bridge winds through trees lining the gully and leads up to a large multi-storied brick building, Men's Hall, in the background. A small white house sits behind the trees and a slight rise. Written on the back: 4-23-30; 7.
Men's Hall (now Smith) was built in 1929 as a residence hall for male students. This three-story building is a companion dormitory to Frees Hall, a home for the ladies, and the two buildings were purposely positioned as north and south anchors in the campus master plan of 1927. Designed by Doane alumni George and Arthur Dean who had an architectural firm in Chicago, the hall was state-of-the-art when new, and included three stories of student living space in the north and south wings, and four levels of student housing in the central portion of the building. There were lounges and recreation rooms on the main level and in the basement, and an infirmary on second floor. A hand-operated freight elevator transported goods between floors. Though areas have been altered over time, the original floor plan remains virtually intact.
This building is Collegiate Gothic in design. The upward aspiring facade elements are reminiscent of traditional Gothic design. Men's Hall features hexagonal, crenellated, parapeted towers that flank the main (west) entrance. A pointed, Gothic-arched door surround accentuates this entrance. The hall also features stone quoining at all corners, and stone string courses and window trim throughout the exterior design. Men's Hall boasts its original clay tile roof. Men's Hall was renamed Smith Hall in 1977 to honor Charles Carmen Smith, a successful Exeter, Nebraska businessman who gave an anonymous donation in 1929 to ensure that the building could be completed during rough financial times.
Brandt Bridge was built in 1930 with funds from H. F. Brandt who was a Professor of Education and Psychology.
Sources: 1) "Doane College Historic Buildings" accessed September 4, 2015, http://www.doane.edu/library/college-archives/historic-buildings. 2) Don Ziegler, A College on a Hill and Beyond, (Doane College, Crete, Nebraska, 2007), 130. 3) Janet L. Jeffries, Images of America, Crete (South Carolina, Arcadia Publishing, 2012), 73.
