| Charles Hitchcock Hall | |
|---|---|
| (U.S. National Register of Historic Places) | |
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| Location: | 1009 East 57th Street, Chicago, Illinois |
| Coordinates: | |
| Built/Founded: | 1900 |
| Architect: | Dwight Heald Perkins |
| Architectural style(s): | Prairie School |
| Added to NRHP: | December 30, 1974 |
| NRHP Reference#: | 74000751 [1] |
| Governing body: | Private |
Snell-Hitchcock comprises two residence halls at the University of Chicago. The building is listed in the National Register of Historic Places for its prairie architecture, primarily visible in the grassland flora depicted around doorframes and in molding on ceilings. Built in the neo-Gothic style, rooms in both houses have hardwood moldings and trim, high ceilings and carpeting. Hitchcock features the Green Room, a large reading room with a baby grand piano and functional fireplace. Snell has the Blue Room, which is a television lounge, and an oak-paneled tea room. [1] In addition to being the oldest residence halls on campus, Snell-Hitchcock have had a host of notables over the years. One of its most famous residents was Enrico Fermi, who stayed in Hitchcock Hall while working on the first self-sustaining nuclear reaction underneath the adjacent Stagg Field. Snell-Hitchcock is currently known for having a high level of community spirit and involvement, which are best displayed at the annual University of Chicago Scavenger Hunt. Also known as Scav Hunt, it marks the high point of the year for many of the inhabitants of the two dorms. Snell Hall was built in 1892, and Hitchcock was built in 1901. The dorm is on the northwest corner of the University's Main Quadrangles at the corner of 57th St. and Ellis Avenue. It is connected via emergency exits to Searle Chemistry Laboratory. Snell and Hitchcock were both built as men’s dormitories, and both were used for that purpose at least through the fifties. Despite this, Snell holds the record of oldest women’s dormitory in a co-ed college. The University’s first women’s dorm complex – Foster/Kelley/Green/Beecher – was not ready in time, so for the spring quarter of 1893 Snell was assigned to women before becoming the next fall “a center of university life for the men of the colleges” (Goodspeed, A History of the University of Chicago 1891-1916).
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Structure
For many years, Snell and Hitchcock were independent, single-sex dorms joined underground through a common area. At night, the connecting point between the two buildings would be sealed by a massive iron door, and a matron would be stationed on the Hitchcock (male) side, to prevent any "unbecoming behavior." As a result, the two buildings have very different internal structure. Snell Hall is set up in the common style of the American University - long halls lined with doors, with each floor having a shared bathroom. It is made up almost entirely of single rooms, save for a single expansive double. Three of the four floors are of mixed genders, while the odd one out is women-only. A co-oped kitchen, laundry room, and a small recreational room are located in the basement, which connects with Hitchcock Hall. Approximately fifty students live in Snell. Hitchcock Hall was originally modeled after the European "landing" style of dormitory. The three interior "sections" (II-IV) are each built around a single staircase which is linked to the others through the basement. Each Section consist of two floors of four double-rooms with a fourth floor that has two "suites" - which are very spacious doubles. The ground floor has no rooms but has both a stairway down to the basement. Traditionally, each section has had a women-only and a men-only floor, with the suite floor being either single or mixed-sex depending on the desires of the residents. However, starting in Fall of 2003, the University made Section II either entirely male or entirely female, depending on the demographics of the incoming class. This decision was reversed in Fall 2006 due to particularly rambunctious all-male tenants. The outermost sections of Hitchcock (Sections I & V) were originally designed for the servants of the students and staff for the building. They have since been converted into floor-style dormitories, similar to Snell. Section I is the furthest from the main entrance of Hitchcock Hall and each floor is mixed-sex with a shared bathroom. It has some of the largest rooms in Hitchcock Hall, and includes several rooms known as "Octagons" which are located in a turret-like structure and have many windows overlooking 57th and Ellis. The entrance to this section opens up into the common area that connects Snell and Hitchcock. Section V is built above the Green Room and so it is the section closest to the entrance of the dormitory. Unlike Section I the first two floors are alternating single-sex (female, then male) with the top floor remaining mixed-sex. Section V has some of the more unusual rooms in Hitchcock, including several which have their own names. On the second floor (first floor of rooms) is the Fermi Room, where Enrico Fermi is said to have lived while conducting his experiments. It is rumored that he chose that room because it had its own bathtub, which is still there today. Linked to the Fermi Room is the Fermi Blackboard, which is usually granted to a physics or mathematics concentrator and is said to be the same blackboard Fermi used to do his calculations, although most likely it is just a rather old blackboard that has been in the dorm for some time. This possibility does not, nevertheless, detract from many students' desire to possess it. On the fourth floor is the Ranch, a sprawling single which extends across the north side of the section. It gives a wonderful view of the Regenstein Library and Ratner Athletic Center and on a clear day the Sears Tower can be seen in the distance. It is usually one of the most sought-after rooms in the University's annual housing lottery. In addition to these rooms, Hitchcock Hall has its own co-op run kitchen and both dorms have their own laundry rooms.
Scav Hunt
The University of Chicago Scavenger Hunt was established in 1987 by Chris Straus, a resident of the Snell-Hitchcock undergraduate dormitory, who organized the list and judged items with Cassie Scharff, Diane Kelly, Nolan McCarty, and Rick Jeffries. This group also formed the core of the judging committee after Straus's graduation in 1988. Recent Chronological Scav Hunt placements:
- 2007: 1st place
- 2006: 2nd place
- 2005: 1st place (tie)
- 2004: 1st place
- 2003: 3rd place
- 2002: 2nd place
- 2001: 1st place
- 2000: 1st place (tie)
- 1995: 1st place
- 1994: 1st place
- 1993: 1st place
Team Names:
- 2007 Psycho Refraction Party
- 2006 Snells Like Hitchcock Spirit
- 2005 Armadillo of Darkness
- 2004 Hitchcapocalyptic Death Snell
- 2003 Fuckin' Yeah
- 2002
- 2001 Snell My Hitchcock (Have a nice day, jackass!)
- 2000
Notes
- ^ National Register Information System. National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service (2007-01-23).
