Having served the University as both residence hall and library, McAuley Hall now houses classrooms, academic departments and offices, including the Office of the Registrar and the Office of Academic Affairs. Salve Regina acquired the property in 1955 and named it in honor of Catherine McAuley, founder of the Sisters of Mercy.
Designed by the famed architectural firm of Peabody & Stearns, McAuley Hall is a rambling red sandstone mansion built in the Richardsonian Romanesque style and characterized by heavy rustication and rounded arches. Completed in 1883, it is the former centerpiece of tobacco heiress Catherine Lorillard Wolfe’s sprawling Vinland estate.
The grounds of the estate, planned by noted landscape architect Ernest Bowditch, feature a pair of 90-foot, century-old beech trees and a large dolium near the main entrance that was excavated from an Italian garden and dates to 200 B.C. A rose garden near the southern wing was planted by the University to serve as a place for quiet reflection.