Ross Hall lounge

Description:	People sit or stand in the Ross Hall lounge, which contains 12 chandeliers, a fireplace, chairs, couches, tables, and a plethora of ashtrays. According to the October 1954 edition of Butler Reports, The 286 men who will fill the building will find comfortable and colorful lounge facilities in a spacious 125 by 50 feet room on the first floor. In this big area are numerous sofas, deep lounge chairs, lamps, floor type ash trays and tables. The walls of a light colored paneled redwood are broken by an oversized fireplace. Casement windows along one length and across one side let in plenty of light and air (p. 7). The first residence hall on Butler Universitys Fairview campus, the building was originally known as the Mens Residence Hall as rooms were only available to male students (the dorm became coed at a later date). The groundbreaking ceremony occurred on April 1, 1953, while the cornerstone laying ceremony took place on September 30, 1953. The architectural firm McGuire and Shook designed the L-shaped limestone building to continue the theme of the other main buildings on campus including Jordan Hall and Atherton Union. The Carl M. Geupel Construction Company served as the general contractor and the final cost of the four story building (basement and three above-ground levels) was approximately $1 million, with an additional $100,000 spent on furnishings. Opening on September 12, 1954, the building could house approximately 280 male students. Although students were already living in the dorm, a public open house was held on Sunday, October 10, 1954, so others could view the new building. Originally, the rooms were filled with custom burn proof furniture designed by the commercial department of L. S. Ayres and Company and manufactured by the Sligh-Lowry Company. Each double room contained two beds, a nightstand, a dresser, a double desk, a lounge chair, and two lamps. The drapes, rugs, chair coverings, lamps, and bedspreads in each room incorporated one of eight different color schemes: medium blue, spring green, coral, tan, ivory, beige, gunmetal, and chartreuse. In 1962, construction began on an addition to the residence hall in order to house approximately 250 additional students. Designed by McGuire, Shook, Compton, Richey and Associates (name changed from McGuire and Shook in 1958), the construction of the two additional wings on the west and south sides of the building began in March 1962, and they opened in September 1963. When University President M. O. Ross retired in 1962, the board of directors passed a resolution to rename the building after Ross, who served as president from 1942 to 1962. The name of the building was officially changed to Ross Residence Hall in 1963.
Source:	http://palni.contentdm.oclc.org/cdm/ref/collection/BldgsGrnds/id/2667
Collection:	Butler University Buildings and Grounds Collection
Rights:	http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC-EDU/1.0/
Copyright:	In Copyright - Educational Use Permitted
Geography:	Indianapolis, Indiana, United States, 39.836075, -86.169659 39.836075 -86.169659
Subjects:	Dormitories Chairs Coffee tables Fireplaces Ashtrays Paneling Butler University--Buildings College buildings Butler University--History Indianapolis (Ind.)--History People Ross Residence Hall Mens Residence Hall Fairview campus

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