Historical Building Complex of University of Shanghai – Yates Hall

Historical Building Complex of University of Shanghai – Yates Hall

The Historical Building Complex of University of Shanghai – Yates Hall is a protected cultural heritage site of Shanghai.

Yates Hall was one of the first buildings decided upon by the university board during the Mogan Mountain Conference in August 1906, along with four residences for foreign faculty, two two-story Chinese-style buildings with eight rooms each, and a dining hall.

In the spring of 1907, construction of the campus buildings began. Due to the low-lying, soft soil of the purchased tidal flat land, which was often flooded during high tide, it took eight months to lay the foundation for Yates Hall. That same year, North Hall was completed first. In September of the same year, the Sichuan North Road Theological Seminary moved into the newly built North Hall.

On January 21, 1908, E.W. Stephens, president of the Southern Baptist Convention of the United States and the first joint president of the Northern and Southern Baptists, laid the foundation stone for Yates Hall.

On February 10, 1909, the university opened, and Yates Hall, the first major building of the University of Shanghai, was put into use. The construction cost was 40,000 Mexican dollars, equivalent to 21,300 US dollars (all figures converted to USD based on the exchange rate at that time). The building was named Yates in honor of the first Baptist missionary to China, Matthew T. Yates. It is a four-story brick-and-wood structure, 110 feet long and 64 feet wide. Initially, apart from the library, post office, general affairs office, academic affairs office, offices of the president and vice president, and a large auditorium that could accommodate 300 people, all other spaces were classrooms (18 in total). This building also served as the administrative hub of the university.

Yates Hall was originally built in 1908 with a brick-and-wood structure. It was damaged by a tornado in September 1956 and rebuilt by May 1957.

Between 1908 and 1909, four residences for foreign faculty and the dining hall (East Hall) were completed successively. The completion of these buildings gave the university its initial form.