Preservation grant from the National Park Service brings renovations to Circle of Signers building 

The only building on Gallaudet’s campus to be designed by a Deaf architect is about to get some love. Gallaudet has been awarded a $750,000 matching grant from the Department of the Interior and National Park Service’s Save America’s Treasures grant program to physically preserve the òkànkwèpihëna tëtpi, or Circle of Signers building. 

Chris Hoffmann, Gallaudet’s Director of Campus Design and Planning, is the grant’s Project Manager and Principal Investigator. The competitive award funds the preservation of “nationally significant” properties. The Gallaudet historic district has been listed in the National Register of Historic Places since 1974 and is also a National Historic Landmark.

“We are honored to receive this prestigious grant from the National Park Service. As the only building on our campus designed by a Deaf architect, this project holds deep significance—it connects us to our past while strengthening our civic identity and collective memory,” said Richard Dougherty, Executive Director of Architecture and Facilities Management.

Before being renamed òkànkwèpihëna tëtpi/Circle of Signers in 2024 (pictured above), the building was known as Dawes House and then Building 103. But it was built in 1895 as Kendall School Boys’ dormitory, and Olof Hanson 1886 & G-1889, believed to be America’s first Deaf architect, designed it.

Hanson designed 54 buildings over the course of his career, including three residential Deaf Schools in North Dakota, Mississippi, and Illinois. As the only building on Gallaudet’s campus designed by a Deaf architect, it holds significant historical value. In the grant application, Hoffmann explains “his [Hanson’s] designs were the precursor of today’s DeafSpace principles of openness and natural light.”

Funding for the two-year project will allow Hoffman’s team to plan and implement substantial renovations:

• Exterior work: major cleaning and restoration (including power washing, re-pointing, repairs to trim, and waterproofing); structural and accessibility improvements (including new railings and ADA ramp); roof and gutter repairs, window replacements, porch floor updates, and paint job. 

• Architectural improvements on floors, ceilings, and walls. Pantry update and door hardware, new drywall partition installation, and window blinds. 

• Mechanical work includes HVAC, plumbing, and electrical overhauls.

This project adds to the growing list of construction and renovation projects coming to reinvigorate Gallaudet’s campus in the near future. “Preserving our language through buildings and landscape is essential to ensuring our cultural continuity for generations to come,” said Dougherty.

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You can learn more about Hanson in the exhibition guide and online exhibit for Olaf Hanson, Conspicuous Leader, 1862-1933, an exhibit by the Gallaudet University Museum which ran from October 22, 2009 to October 1, 2011. The two images at the bottom of this article are drawn from the exhibit.