Kanakadea Hall Key

Of all the buildings on Alfred University’s campus, Kanakadea Hall is one of the most recognized and beloved. It is the oldest building on campus to have been continuously used for education. It was built in 1884 as the Alfred Grammar School for local children to begin their education and served in this capacity until a fire in 1907 greatly damaged the building. At this point the University acquired it through a trade: the lot on Park St. on which South Hall now sits, and on which a school could be built, for the half-burned out Grammar School. It was rebuilt and used for classrooms and offices in 1908 and has been serving the University ever since. It underwent a massive restoration in 2001, which resulted in the beautiful building with which we are familiar today.
This key is in the University Archive memorabilia collection and was at one time used to open the front doors of Kanakadea Hall. The picture on which it sits shows the building while it was in use as a school, complete with students milling around the entrance. It isn’t known whether or not this key opened the doors to the Alfred Grammar School or to Kanakadea Hall, pre-renovation. The building on the left is Burdick Hall, a former men’s boarding house.