Ballou Hall, Administrative building at Tufts University campus in Medford, United States.

Ballou Hall is a rectangular red-brick building, 100 by 60 feet, in Italianate style with sandstone trim, rusticated corner quoins and a bracketed cornice and balustrade. Its arched main entrance sits within a Roman Ionic portico, also topped by a balustrade, and six paneled brick chimneys rise above a slate roof. It was built on Walnut Hill to be seen from miles beyond campus.

The building was constructed in 1854 as the first academic structure on the university campus and designed by Boston architect Gridley J.F. Bryant. Its architect left traces in university documents that later confirmed his involvement in the project.

The building once served as a gathering place for the early university community with chapel and residential spaces. Today it represents the administrative heart of the institution and shows how a single structure adapted to meet changing institutional needs.

The building is located on Boston Avenue within an active university campus that is easy to explore on foot. Keep in mind this is a working administrative building, so it is best viewed from the exterior and its surroundings.

The exact authorship of the building remained a mystery for years until Bryant's signature was discovered in a university legal document. This architectural detective work shows how carefully old records can reveal hidden details.