OLD GOLD--Currier Hall: One dorm’s story

Old Gold finds something reassuring in the lines of cars, vans, and pickup trucks that show up in Iowa City in late August every year. Moving day for new and returning students is a rite of passage, a marker of seasonal change that every university town anticipates, enjoys and, yes, endures. Those who endure are usually those leaving home for the first time, as well as parents who face an empty nest at the end of a long day of unpacking and good-byes.

For nearly a century, Currier Hall has been the setting for this ritual for thousands of Hawkeye undergraduates, women at first, but becoming coed in the 1970s. By Old Gold’s reckoning, some 15,000 of The University of Iowa’s students have lived in Currier since its opening in 1914. The dormitory initially housed 170 women; today, it has grown to accommodate more than 600.

Rental housing was scarce in Iowa City, particularly for women students, at the turn of the 20th century. The small town could barely meet the needs of a growing university, and pressure for a women’s hall was growing. The Dean of Women, Mable Montgomery Volland, stated her case for a “Women’s Building” in a plea to the Iowa General Assembly, published in the January 1908 Iowa Alumnus:

“We are calling it a Women’s Building for it is to be not a Commons alone, not a Dormitory alone, not a Club-house alone, but a center that shall supply the many and varied needs of the women in all colleges of the University. … There are already enrolled this year 750 girls, an advance of more than 100 over last year’s record. There is imperative need of more rooms for young women.”

The state’s legislators agreed, and in 1913 construction was begun. James Rawson and Son, the Des Moines architecture firm responsible for other building plans on campus in the early 20th century, was awarded the design contract. The new building was named in honor of the former Dean of the College of Liberal Arts, Professor Amos N. Currier, and of his wife, Celia C. Currier.

A 1918 brochure promoting Currier Hall noted that rooms are lighted by electricity and come equipped with rugs, curtains, single cots, dressers, study tables, and chairs. These days rooms in Currier include all of the above, plus cable TV access (gotta have it), special data port providing high-speed connection to the Internet and the campus Wi-Fi network (really gotta have it), and activated telephone outlet (umm...what’s that?).

For alumni memories of Currier Hall and other dormitories on the UI campus, see Tina Owen’s article that appeared in the August 2000 edition of the Iowa Alumni Magazine.

—David McCartney, University Archivist



View of Currier Hall main entrance from Clinton Street, 1930s
View of Currier Hall main entrance from Clinton Street, 1930s [University Archives, F.W. Kent Collection (RG 30.01.01), Buildings Series, folder “Currier Hall”]

 

Formal dinner, Currier Hall dining area, June 1954Formal dinner, Currier Hall dining area, June 1954 [University Archives, F.W. Kent Collection (RG 30.01.01), Buildings Series, folder “Currier Hall”]

Formal dinner, Currier Hall dining area, June 1954Formal dinner, Currier Hall dining area, June 1954 [University Archives, F.W. Kent Collection (RG 30.01.01), Buildings Series, folder “Currier Hall”].


Reception desk, Currier Hall, 1940s
Reception desk, Currier Hall, 1940s [University Archives, F.W. Kent Collection (RG 30.01.01), Buildings Series, folder “Currier Hall”]



Thoroughly modern laundry room, Currier Hall, 1950s
Thoroughly modern laundry room, Currier Hall, 1950s [University Archives, F.W. Kent Collection (RG 30.01.01), Buildings Series, folder “Currier Hall”]



Currier Hall student handbooks, 1956 and 1960
Currier Hall student handbooks, 1956 and 1960 [University Archives, Campus Buildings and Grounds Vertical File (RG 01.15.02), folder “Currier Hall”]


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The Gang Lu Shootings, 20 Years Later: An outpouring of support in the wake of tragedy

Source—University Archives, Records of the Department of Physics (RG 06.28), Collection on Nov. 1, 1991, Tragedy

If you’ve got memories to share, please send them to Spectator and we’ll run some next month.

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