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Life on College Hill Exhibit Graphic

Life on College Hill: University Housing Graphic for The Built Environment Physical Exhibit at USU's Merrill-Cazier Library.

2018-02

11-Life on College Hill.pdf

Life on College Hill
University Housing

Student housing has been a recurrent problem at USU. Although a women’s dormitory was among the earliest college buildings, most students found room and board with local, downtown residents. Particularly pronounced as WWII veterans returned after 1946, the housing shortage required erecting military surplus buildings to house married students. The campus employed a number of resourceful ideas to meet student housing needs, endeavoring to accommodate an ever-growing university population.

Residence Hall (1891-1970)
Built in 1891, the Residence Hall rested at
the bottom of College Hill and originally
served as a women’s facility. Popular
stories of the time tell of young men using
the fire escape to serenade potential
sweethearts. The college later converted it
to a “clubhouse” for both men and women,
who occupied separate floors. In 1909, the
structure became home to the School of
Domestic Science, then home to the School of
Forestry after completion of the Home
Economics Building in 1935. Forestry, along with
Range and Wildlife Sciences remained in the
aging building until construction of the
Biology/Natural Resources Building (BNR) in
1960. Demolished in 1970, the Aggie Terrace sits
on the former site of the dormitory.

Lund Hall (1937-2013)
Taking advantage of depression-era funding, the college built a new
women’s dormitory east of the library in 1938. Named for college
stalwart Anthon L. Lund, the building later housed student athletes
through 1970, and lastly the Mathematics and Statistics
Department. The National Park Service placed Lund Hall on the
National Register of Historic Places in 1986. Contractors razed the
dormitory to accommodate Huntsman Hall in 2013.