Gund Hall
From KCpedia
George Gund Hall is located on the West side of the Freshmen Quad in between Lewis Hall and Norton Hall. Although it is considered the ugliest dorm on campus by many students, it is well loved by its alumni, many of whom refer to themselves as "Gund Survivors." The room dividers that mark Gund as unique are both hated and loved by those who live there.
Contents |
Construction
The George S. Rider Company was signed to be the architect and engineer for the construction of both Gund and Dempsey Hall in 1963. This company specialized in small factories around Cleveland.
The exterior was to be built of brick and splitface sandstone, with Indiana limestone trim, while the interior was based on a "core design." The Lounge that juts off the east side of the building was designed to be a gathering place for all freshmen as well.
Building Costs
Gund Hall cost $404,196 to build. It's design included 39 double rooms for students, 4 rooms for student proctors (now R.A. rooms), and an apartment for a faculty advisor. It also includes a typing room, which is now used as a study area, and a first floor lounge with a separate television area.
The building costs were as follows:
| General Contractor: | Weithman Bros., Inc.
P.O. Box 606 Galion, Ohio | $298,892.00 |
| Mechanical Contractor: | The Gesling Company
121 South Columbus Street Lancaster, Ohio | $70,000.00 |
| Electrical Contractor: | Dalrymple Electric Services
Columbus Road Mt. Vernon, Ohio | $35,304.00 |
| TOTAL | $404,196.00 |
Opening
Students first moved into Gund on Sunday, November 17, 1963, although the dedication of the building did not take place until 1:00 PM on Saturday, October 31, 1964. The building is named after George Gund, Chairman of the Board of the Cleveland Trust Company and a trustee of the College starting in 1948. The dedication was officiated by Bishop Nelson M. Burroghs.
Student Reaction
The architecture of the building immediately came under attack. Yale University had just been written up in Time magazine for buildings that had recently been completed there. Yale's new architecture was beautiful and received plenty of praise. Meanwhile, Kenyon's new buildings, Gund and Dempsey, were criticized for being too bland. The students were very unhappy, referring to the divided rooms as "work-sleep cubicles."
The freshmen lounge offered no real reason for students to congregate there. Eventually, an exercise area was added, but this still did little to affect attention. A move was made to add a climbing wall to the south wall of the lounge, but not enough funding was available. Now the exercise equipment has been removed from the lounge and it has returned to being a TV room.
Peeping Incident
During October Break in 1994 there was a Peeping Tom incident that inspired Kenyon to lock the side entrances and install 5 button combination locks on the women's bathrooms. The 5 button combination locks can still be found on the women's bathrooms although they are no longer used. The side entrances were locked between 7pm and 10am by security. It was an annoyance for some, but it did make the students feel safer. It was the residents themselves that voted on whether or not the locks should be added. Eventually, however, the locks were no longer deemed necessary and fell out of use.
Resources in the Kenyon College Archives
- Gund Hall -- collected materials
