Baby, It's Cold Outside

At the time of its construction, Waldo Hall had the latest amenities including steam heat.[1] The residents did not need to huddle around the hearth of a large central fireplace for warmth before trudging off to their cold beds. Each room had its own radiator that added a bit of style as well as comfortable heat.

The residents enjoyed the warmth, but missed the ambiance of socializing around a roaring fire. Talking in a group around a table or next to the wall, just did not cut it. In the early 1920s, the residents had collected the money needed for installation of a fireplace in the great common room on the second floor. This introduction required a chimney be installed as well.

The fire safety regulations that pushed turning Waldo Hall from a residence hall to office space prohibited using the fireplace for its intended purpose. The flues were closed and the wrought iron accouterments disappeared.

During the 1970s, when the seeming tenets of interior design dictated the painting of anything old with colors future generations would consider hideous, the brick front of the fireplace was painted olive green. It has since been covered with a coat of white because the green could not be removed from the brick.

When the roof was repaired in the late 1980s, the chimney was removed. For the decades the fireplace was not in use, birds had taken up living in the chimney- the last residents of Waldo Hall.[2]