F&M College’s Goethean Hall and its twin sister, Diagnothian Hall, are among the first buildings constructed on campus, in 1857. They stand with Old Main, built this same time, on the highest hill of Lancaster City.
Baltimore architects Dixon, Balbirnie, and Dixon designed these three buildings in a Gothic Revival style. The two halls were home to two literary debating societies. Goethean Hall was named for German writer Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, the most influential writer in the German language.
Lancet windows and vertical lines define this Perpendicular Gothic style. Turrets flank the central entries which have limestone hood moldings and finials. Stepped buttresses repeat the design of the stepped gables. A quatrefoil oculus accents both peaks.