Emory College president Warren Candler, concerned about fire vulnerability on the Oxford campus, began lobbying for the construction of a dedicated library building after a fire consumed the old recitation hall in 1891. At the time, the library was housed on the third floor of Seney Hall and this was cause for concern. A committee was formed in 1897, their efforts culminated in the construction of Candler Hall. The architect, Samuel Manning Patton (1857-1897), who had designed several prominent buildings in Chattanooga, sadly died in a fire in one of them the same year Candler Hall was completed. Clad in Tennessee limestone with a foundation of local gneiss, the Stripped Neoclassical building stands in contrast to other buildings on the quad, with a more “modern” feel. It served as the library until 1970 when it was replaced by the truly modern Hoke O’Kelley Memorial Library across the quad. Candler Hall is now home to Campus Life offices and the college bookstore.

Oxford Historic District, National Register of Historic Places