Every student on campus
has seen Tyler Hall, but what
most students don’t know is
that the basement of Tyler
Hall is a former pub.
Descending down the spiral
staircase into the basement is
like walking back in time. The
Pine Room, which is the
name of the pub while the
Tyler family lived there, was
built between 1932 and 1934
and was used as a recreation
area where the men could
relax and enjoy cigars, and
perhaps a pint or two.
The original purpose of
Tyler Hall was as a hunting
lodge for the Tyler family.
Lyle Rosenberger, a history
professor and director of the
historical preservation program
at Bucks said, “Before
the fox hunts, which started
in the courtyard, Mrs. Tyler
would come out of the front
door and the men would ask
her, very formally, ‘May we
hunt on your property?’ And
of course she would say yes
and they would go and
hunt.”
After the hunt the men
would come back to relax,
drink and enjoy each others’
company. Rosenberger said,
“It was a nice hideaway,
that’s what it really was.”
Matt Cipriano, director of
student life said, “Students
like to go down there; it has a
really neat feel for learning.
There’s nothing else like it.”
The decorator of the room,
Henry Sleeper, had an almost
identical room in his own
house, Beautort, which is
located in Gloucester, Mass.
Rosenberger said, “He would
frequently give [the Tyler
family] some of his antiques
and say, ‘I think you should
have some of these.'”
After Mrs. Tyler died in
1963, the property was
bought by Bucks County.
Now it is part of the
Newtown campus at Bucks
and holds offices pertinent to
the college.
Rosenberger said, “What
we call the pub was used as a
classroom, then used by the
music department, and now
it’s used primarily for the
Historic Preservation
Program.”
The pub is a nice little piece
of history for any interested
student or history buff.
Tyler Hall itself is a beautiful
representation of Bucks.
So if your campus travels
ever take you into Tyler Hall,
be sure to take a walk down
that spiral staircase, and take
a step back in time.