use it was first in
its field. By the way, the name "Hotel Athenaeum" was given by Dr.
Vincent, who liked to impart a classical tone to buildings in an
educational institution.

The building was begun in 1880 and opened in the following year, though
even then not fully completed. It occupied the site of a three-story
edifice bearing the high-sounding name "Palace Hotel," a structure of
tent-cloth over a wooden frame, divided by muslin partitions, and three
stories in height. When rooms for the ever-increasing multitudes at
Chautauqua were few, the Palace Hotel was a blessing to many visitors.
Some distinguished men slept in those tented rooms, and inasmuch as a
sheet partition is not entirely sound-proof, their snores at night could
be heard almost as far as their speeches by day. Some there were in the
early eighties who shook their heads as the walls of the new hotel rose,
and dreaded the tide of worldliness which would follow; but the Hotel
Athenaeum has become a genuine helper to the Chautauqua spirit, for its
great parlor has opened its doors to many receptions, and the witty
after-dinner speeches at banquets in its dining-hall would fill more
than one volume.

Another building which deserves mention is the Congregational House,
opened in 1880; the first church headquarters established at
Chautauqua. We have seen how the denominations were recognized from the
earliest years, and meeting places provided for their prayer meetings
and conferences. The need was felt by a number of the larger churches of
a place where their members could find a welcome on arrival, could form
an acquaintance with fellow-members, could meet each other in social
gatherings and prayer meetings, and could promote the fraternal spirit.
The example of the Congregationalists was soon followed. The
Presbyterian headquarters, aided by a liberal donation of Mr. Elliott F.
Shepard of New York, was the earliest brick building on the ground,
solid and substantial, befitting the church which it represented. After
a few years its size was doubled to make a Mission House, where
missionaries of that church, home and foreign, could enjoy a vacation at
Chautauqua. The Methodist House is one of the largest, for its chapel is
the home of the Community Church at Chautauqua through the entire year,
the church home of the resident population of every denomination. The
Disciples of Christ, or Christian Church, purchased a large
boarding-house, built before it