John and Jean Hall were among the first property owners in the Nittany Hills Development. Their site is at about the highest point in State College and overlooks Mount Nittany and the valley below. University Drive did not exist at the time and access was via a lane from Nimitz Avenue at Garner Street. Also at the time, there was an unobstructed view West to the Easterly Parkway valley and the town beyond.
The house is split level, with bedrooms on two levels to the left and living and dining on the midlevel wing to the right. A distinguishing feature is the use of symmetrical wing walls to the front of the sleeping wing. The left wing wall hides a sunken patio and the right wing wall (rather hidden by shrubbery) forms an enclosure for the main entryway in the center of the house. The window wall in the front provides the view to Mount Nittany and the valley,
John was a member of Penn State’s Department of Psychology from 1949 to 1985 and is now Emeritus Professor. Jean was an elementary school teacher with the State College schools until she retired in 1955 to become a full-time homemaker. She was later recruited by Twila Gerhardt to assist in speech therapy for her husband Royal in recovering from a stroke. The Gerhardts owned the property which became the Nittany Hills development and the Halls were among the earliest purchasers. They maintained a long time friendship with the Gerhardts.
Several changes were made from Hallock’s initial concept for the home, but the overall shape was maintained.
The foyer provides access to all major areas of the home. The rippled glass door light is typical of the period. Directly ahead of the entry, the great room is through the folding louvered doors, a first for the contractor. To the right, stairs provide access to the upper and lower sleeping levels. The cooking and dining areas are to the left.
The dining room (originally family room) window wall provides views toward Mount Nittany. The fireplace design is simple, but elegant, with shallow raised wall panels. The slate-topped hearth is seating height.
Kitchen cabinets have their original natural wood finish. Note the pass through doors in the bottom center, a fairly common feature for the period.
The pass through doors are shown on the great room side. This adjacent area was used by the Halls for dining.
With no basement, storage space is at a premium. Hallock provided access to a small attic over the living area via a closet in the master bedroom. Upper floor bedrooms have cathedral ceilings.
The south wing wall hides a walk-out sunken patio.
Master bedroom occupants get to enjoy a cantilevered balcony.
(Photo courtesy of Jean and John Hall.)
When the dwelling was built, the lot sloped naturally away from the house. The Halls later had the land terraced and a roofed patio built on the West side (below).
The current owners have converted this patio into a screened-in porch. Another later change was fencing in the South patio and yard for the family pet (above).
(Photo courtesy of Jean and John Hall.)
(Photo courtesy of Jean and John Hall.)
When the Halls built their home at the highest point in State College, they considered their view to the West (above) to be as stunning as their view of Mount Nittany to the East. At the time University Drive had not yet been built and vegetation was low, so they commanded an overview of the Easterly Parkway valley and the town beyond, per above. Today development and tree growth have obstructed the view that they formerly had towards town. Building restrictions have mostly saved the view towards Mount Nittany, however.
To the west side of University Drive, the developers put restrictions on the lots requiring single-floor homes and small-sized trees to maintain the views of Mount Nittany for all owners. Apparently such restrictions are valid only for a limited number of years and views are becoming endangered, even by the Borough of State College.
Because their location would not obstruct others, the Halls received special permission from the developers to construct a split-level home. They recall a highly pleasant association with Hallock in developing their plans. The builder was Mr. Spotts, who previously had not installed louvered doors or iron stair railing. Phil guided him through their installation. The folding doors were widely used in mid-century modern design and were used throughout the house.
