Solomon Hall
1 College Circle

Solomon Hall, the first building erected on campus all the way back in 1890, was named for William Calumet Solomon, noted playwright and actor, who was one of the university's co-founders and later served as its second President. The building is constructed of fine granite, in exquisite Gothic style, and stands at three stories with a septagonal cupola at the fore of a gently tapered roof, from which assorted gargoyles and grotesques loom menacingly. A grand lobby stands just beyond the main entrance, its spacious walls, floors and pillars crafted of marble. Beautifully rendered statues of the nine Muses stand before each of the nine great pillars in the lobby, and the seven archangels sit in carved relief high upon the walls, just below the top of the cupola, gazing down at the whole of the chamber. Below these images, gilded letters spell out three phrases in Latin: the school motto, Fiat Justitia Ruat Caelum (let justice be done, though the heavens fall); Sine Scientia Ars Nihil Est (art without knowledge is nothing); and In Absentia Luci Tenebrae Vincunt (in the absence of light, darkness prevails). The lobby also features ample seating in the form of benches along the walls and between the pillars, and most students and alumni agree that Solomon Hall's lobby is one of their favorite spots on campus.

The heart of the building is the old theatre, the original 300-seat auditorium accessible via the main lobby. Once the centerpiece of Greyson's dramatic landscape, the theatre has been replaced by the recently installed Argyle Theatre at the Lance Memorial Student Union, and now serves as rehearsal space, as well as hosting various experimental productions and smaller student plays. In addition to the old theatre, Solomon Hall houses the offices and classrooms for the Department of Dramatic and Performance Arts, the Department of Musical Arts, and the Department of Studio Arts, as well as a number of small, intimate art studios and soundproofed practice rooms. The basement level, accessible from a door in the wings of the old theatre, is used primarily to store set pieces, supplies and props, and features a secret door leading to a cavern far below - a cave which most students are completely ignorant of, fortunately, for the chamber holds the metal seal that marks the center of Shadowgard's dimensional nexus.

The other notable feature of Solomon Hall is the Black Angel, which sits on the grassy mound at the center of the cul-de-sac just outside the building. Though not a part of Solomon Hall proper, it was erected at precisely the same time and is widely thought to be most strongly associated with the old theatre building.