Alumni Hall (University of Notre Dame)


Alumni Hall is one of the 31 Residence Halls on the campus of the University of Notre Dame and one of the 16 male dorms. It is located on South Quad adjacent to "Main Circle", across from the law school building. Because of Alumni's central location and boisterous reputation, residents fondly refer to the hall as the "Center of the Universe". Together with other historic structures of the university, it is on the National Register of Historic Places.

History

Alumni and Dillon Hall were built as part of an extensive building program that started in the mid 20s and aimed at improving educational and living facilities, and increasing supply of on-campus residential facilities. The two dorms were expected to cost $850,000 and add host 500 students to reduce the housing shortage and increase on-campus students to 2,600. Ground was broken on March 2nd 1931 and construction was contracted to Sollitt and Sons. Funds were collected through the Alumni Association and a $250,000 gift from the General Education Board. An additional $52,000 came from the 1925 Rose Bowl.
Both halls were designed in 1931 by architects Charles Donagh Maginnis and Timothy Walsh in Collegiate Gothic style. The Maginnis & Walsh was known at the time for its innovative and refined gothic design of churches and campuses in Boston, and was behind the campus architecture of Boston College and the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception. The architectural style of both Dillon and Alumni was in line with the previous gothic building on campus by Kervick and Fagan such as Morrissey, with local yellow brick with limestone trimmings, adorned with stone carvings on the facade and the interiors. The exterior features carvings of saints and athletes. The hall's unique architecture includes gargoyles up top and stone carvings of everything from Madonna and Child, saints, dogs, to Knute Rockne. On the south side of the building, facing South Bend, is a statue by Hungarian artist Eugene Kormendi of a college graduate known as The Graduate or Joe College who is looking towards leaving college for the real world. The hall's chapel is dedicated to St. Charles Borromeo, the patron saint of then-president Fr. Charles L. O'Donnell, CSC. The ornate halls made uo then the southern edge and entrance of campus.
Built at a total cost of $375,000, Alumni Hall has 169 single rooms and 20 doubles, in addition to those of the rector and the prefects. The first rector was Rev. Raymond Clancy, C.S.C. When the halls opened in late October of 1931 and two hundred students moved in, Alumni featured some of the latest technologies of the time, such as electric elevators, extension phones, buzzers, and slots for used razors. Since previous newest residential development of Howard Hall, Morrissey Hall, and Lyons Hall had previously been known as "Gold Coast" because of their refined architecture, Alumni and Dillon quickly were dubbed "Platinum Coast" both because they had improved amenities but also because of the grayer color of the architecture and decoration.
The hall was so named in honor of the University's alumni. Initially, a funding drive for a new hall was initiated by the Alumni Association in 1915 for the construction of a hall to be names 'Old Students' Hall' and serve as residence hall and to host alumni returning to campus. This fund was instead first invested in Liberty Bonds in 1917, and then again loaned to the University for other projects. When the project was revived in 1920, issues with the building field prevented construction. Again, in 1922 funds were collected but instead of initiating construction, the Alumni Associated gave more than $60,000 to the University to complete the fund to secure funds from the General Education Board. To honor this continued support of the Alumni Association, the University decided to name the hall 'Alumni Hall' in 1931. The name was chosen as a better sounding version of 'Old Students' Hall'. Additionally, given the shortage of student housing on-campus, the plan to have rooms dedicating to returning alumni was scrapped. The Coat of Arms features two white chevronels on a green field, the colors of the hall, and three dogs, the mascot of the hall.
During World War II, Dillon and Alumni officers for the V-12 Navy College Training Program. In the 1940s, when Navy trainees took over the residence, Alumni's residents squeezed in with one another, turning all singles into doubles. The space was so cramped that Dave Condon '49, later a sportswriter for the Chicago Tribune, wrote in Scholastic that "when someone entered by the front door, it necessitated someone else leaving by the rear egress."

Traditions

The mascot of alumni hall is the Dawg, in honor of Clashmore Mike, the original Notre Dame mascot donated by Knute Rockne that was subsequently replaced by the Leprechaun. Alumni's close-knit community and tradition for rambunctious behavior likens them to a traditional fraternity; so much so that the dorm is represented by and displays Greek letters. These letters are Delta-Omega-Gamma, which spells out the name of the alumni mascot, a dog. They display their letters three times a year: during Freshman Orientation, during Alumni-Dillon Rivalry Week, and during Alumni's secretive Wake Week in the spring.
The Alumni Wake, started in 1983, was inspired by traditional Irish wakes with late night partying. The first Wake involved a handmade wooden coffin, flowers raided from a cemetery trash heap, and a procession. It was intended to be a fancy event, with decorations that turned sections of the dorm into Dublin streets. In subsequent years the Wake became a rowdy and alcohol-infused celebration surrounded by bizarre traditions, one of which involved Rector George Rozum, CSC, ‘61, ’80MSA, being carried into the hall's dance inside a coffin. The Wake was traditionally held in the basement of Alumni Hall, but with stricter rules from the administration the Wake was moved to other locations around campus. From the original Irish Wake sprang the Wake Week of today, a week shrouded in celebration and mystery. Though the administration has cracked down on the celebration, the Wake retains much of its original spirit and mystery.
Alumni Hall has a long-lasting rivalry with Dillon Hall, with which it shares a courtyard. Though Dillon contains a larger number of inhabitants, Alumni residents refer to Dillon as the "little brother". In the 1970s and ‘80s, residents were engaged in the "Window Wars" by throwing and hitting golf balls from the courtyard at Dillon's windows at 3 in the morning after Dillon initiated the conflict.
On Fridays of home football weekends, Alumni puts on an activity known as "quad dancing". At exactly 12:31 p.m., residents charge out of the south quad doors dressed in bizarre costumes. They proceed to dance rambunctiously on South Quad for slightly less than ten minutes, then return inside and continue on with the day.

Notable residents