College Hall was the first building on the West Philadelphia campus. Designed by Thomas Webb Richards, a professor of drawing and architecture, the building housed almost all of the college functions, including the library, classrooms, laboratories and offices. In recent years, the building has been the home of the President, Provost, School of Arts and Sciences, the Department of History and the Undergraduate Admissions Office. The building's significance in the history of collegiate architecture has been recognized by U.S. Department of Interior by placing it on the National Registry of Historic Places and in the University of Pennsylvania Historic District.