Hill House at Helleniko
Hill House was among the first buildings on the campus built between 1931-1932. It was constructed by architect W. Stuart Thompson of the New York firm of Thompson and Churchill, who was also the architect of the Gennadeion Library in Athens, the New Museum in Corinth, and the Archaeological Museum at Mytilene.
Its construction was funded by the Christian Woman’s Board of Missions (CWBM) and the building took its name from a legacy of Ida F. Hill who was a member of the Women’s Board. It had electric lighting and central heating, and contained the dormitories, the dining room, and the Assembly Hall of The American College for Girls at Helleniko.
Boarding facilities in the College were available from the first year of operations at The American College for Girls in Greece, in 1923. According to the Registration Book of the college the first year 9 boarders found shelter in the House while in the second year the number rose to 34.
In 2021, The Hill House Façade from Helleniko campus was relocated opposite to the Digital Museum in the ACG campus at Aghia Paraskevi, in order to indicate a tangible resource in the history of the College, and its commitment to provide boarding facilities to its students. On the inauguration date of the event, October 15, 2021 alumni from Helleniko visited the campus and shared their precious memories.
Celebrating the event, the present digital exhibit presents photos from the daily life of students in the House, an except with the Diary of a boarder from the student journal Sunny Days in 1961, and four audios referring to the development of the Boarding House after WWII, by Flora Haniotou. Flora Haniotou was the Housing Director of Pierce College from 1948 to 1979. The audios are part of an interview she gave to Mr. Salimbene, Vice President and Director of Pierce College, in 1983.