Scottish Rite Dormitory

Last updated
Scottish Rite Dormitory
Scottish rite dormitory 2007.jpg
The Scottish Rite Dormitory in 2007
Location210 W. 27th St
Austin, Texas, USA
Coordinates 30°17′33″N97°44′22″W / 30.29250°N 97.73944°W / 30.29250; -97.73944
Built1922
Architect Herbert M. Greene
Architectural styleColonial Revival
NRHP reference No. 98000404
RTHL No. 15644
Significant dates
Added to NRHPApril 23, 1998
Designated RTHL1967

The Scottish Rite Dormitory (SRD) is a private women's dorm for the University of Texas built and operated by the Scottish rite of Freemasons in Austin, Texas. Located just north of campus on 27th Street and Whitis Avenue, the colonial revival style building was completed in 1922 during a housing shortage on campus and was intended to provide housing for the daughters and relatives of Master Masons.

Contents

Since its origin the building has relaxed its entry requirements somewhat, but is still well known among UT students for its strict rules only allowing male visitors during certain hours. Many girls are wait-listed for entry to the dorm beginning in high school or earlier. [1] Residents are often referred to as SaRDines. The dorm also employs young men as waiters and dishwashers. [2]

Old jokes about poor institutional food, especially in dormitories have never applied to SRD. Girls who have lived there usually mention the food first when expressing their feelings about the dormitory. One special dessert every SRD alumni nostalgically remembers is Chocolate Crumble Balls (CCB's). In addition to daily meals, the kitchen staff prepared special refreshments for birthday dinners, pajama parties, and other special occasions, such as the spring formal. [3]

Early history

The plan for the Scottish Rite Dormitory began prior to 1920 due to shortage of housing for women around the University of Texas at Austin. Initially started in 1920 in a boarding house near its current location, the construction of the building took two years and opened in 1922. Funds were raised to complete the project by the Texas Scottish Rite Educational Association, headed by president Samuel Cochran (1855-1936). [4] The Scottish Rite Dormitory building at 210 W. 27th, known as the "Grande Dame" by some celebrates 100 years in 2022.

Architecture and Design

Scottish Rite Dormitory was designed by Herbert Miller Greene, a prominent Dallas architect and active member of the Masons who in the early 1920s was chosen by the UT Board of Regents to become the university's official architect. Over the course of the next decade he designed a number of buildings for the Austin campus in the prevailing Mediterranean-influenced Beaux-Arts style, among them Garrison Hall, Littlefield Dormitory, the Biology Building, Gregory Gymnasium, the Chemistry Building, and Waggener Hall. Scottish Rite Dormitory was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1998. [5]

Dorm Lore

Memories of SRD abound with tales of fun with friends, attempts at sneaking in boys, late night food runs after curfew, and an array of other adventures. Ghost stories are also part of the legend and take on a different tone from decade to decade. [6] One that has stood the test of time features the girl who is said to have jumped from the empty elevator shaft after losing her love in WWII. [7] [8] Many of the waiters from the late 1930's to the late 1940's (known as the SRD Dark Horses) served in WWII, so losing a boyfriend in the war was a real possibility for young women during that era.

Controversy

In November 2018, dormitory director Mary Mazurek and registrar Meshelle Bourne asked student Kaj Baker to meet with them to discuss guest rules. Baker was told she was no longer allowed to bring in guests for the rest of the semester after spending nights studying with her girlfriend in the SRD lounge. Baker claims Mazurek and Bourne took action because some of the residents in the dorm were not comfortable with Baker's sexual orientation despite no rule violations. [9]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">University of Texas at Austin</span> Public university in Austin, Texas, US

The University of Texas at Austin is a public research university in Austin, Texas. It is the flagship institution of the University of Texas System. With 52,384 students as of Fall 2022, it is also the largest institution in the system.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jones Creek, Texas</span> Village in Texas, United States

Jones Creek is a village in Brazoria County, Texas, United States. The population was 2,020 at the 2010 census. It is the first location in Texas where Stephen F. Austin settled.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dormitory</span> Residential student building

A dormitory, also known as a hall of residence or a residence hall, is a building primarily providing sleeping and residential quarters for large numbers of people such as boarding school, high school, college or university students. In some countries, it can also refer to a room containing several beds accommodating people.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Warren Towers</span> Boston University dormitory

Warren Towers is one of the three Boston University dormitories traditionally intended for underclassmen, the others being The Towers and West Campus. The building is located at central campus, next to the College of Communication (COM) and across from the College of Arts and Sciences (CAS). Housing approximately 1800 students, it is the second-largest non-military dormitory in the country, behind Jester Center at The University of Texas at Austin. The closest MBTA stop is Boston University East on the Green Line B branch, located directly in front of B and C Towers, in a center reservation on Commonwealth Avenue.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Huston–Tillotson University</span> Historically black university in Austin, Texas, U.S.

Huston–Tillotson University (HT) is a private historically black university in Austin, Texas. Established in 1875, Huston–Tillotson University was the first institution of higher learning in Austin. The university is affiliated with the United Methodist Church, the United Church of Christ, and the United Negro College Fund. Huston–Tillotson University awards bachelor's degrees in business, education, the humanities, natural sciences, social sciences, science, and technology and a master's degree in educational leadership. The university also offers alternative teacher certification and academic programs for undergraduates interested in pursuing post-graduate degrees in law and medicine.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Main Building (University of Texas at Austin)</span> Tower in the University of Texas in Austin, Texas, United States

The Main Building is a structure at the center of the University of Texas at Austin campus in Downtown Austin, Texas, United States. The Main Building's 307-foot (94 m) tower has 27 floors and is one of the most recognizable symbols of the university and the city.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alumni Hall (University of Notre Dame)</span> Historic dormitory building in Indiana, U.S.

Alumni Hall is one of the 32 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, and it hosts 234 undergraduates.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Buckman Hall (Gainesville, Florida)</span> United States historic place

Buckman Hall is a historic building located in Murphree Area on the University of Florida campus in Gainesville, Florida, United States. It was designed by architect William A. Edwards in the Collegiate Gothic style and opened in 1906 as one of the two original buildings on the University of Florida's Gainesville campus along with nearby Thomas Hall. It once was a multi-purpose facility but has been used exclusively as a student dormitory since the 1940s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Housing at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology</span> Undergraduate and graduate dormitories

Housing at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) consists of eleven undergraduate dormitories and nine graduate dorms. All undergraduate students are required to live in an MIT residence during their first year of study. Undergraduate dorms are usually divided into suites or floors, and usually have Graduate Resident Assistants (GRA), graduate students living among the undergraduates who help support student morale and social activities. Many MIT undergraduate dorms are known for their distinctive student cultures and traditions.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dobie Center</span> Residence hall on the University of Texas Austin campus

Dobie Center, named after J. Frank Dobie, is a formerly privately-owned 27-story residence hall located on the University of Texas at Austin campus. On October 12, 2021, the University of Texas announced it was purchasing the center to provide additional school-owned housing near campus for its students. In addition to being a residence for students, Dobie also contains a two-story mall, restaurants, and specialty stores.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Drag (Austin, Texas)</span> Street in Austin, Texas

The Drag is a nickname for a portion of Guadalupe Street that runs along the western edge of the University of Texas campus in Austin, Texas.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Littlefield House</span> Historic house in Texas, United States

The Littlefield House is a historic home in Austin, Texas, on the campus of the University of Texas at Austin. The home was built in 1893 for Civil War veteran George Littlefield, who was a successful businessman in the bank and cattle trades and a major benefactor to UT. It was designed using the popular Victorian style at a cost of $50,000.

West Campus is a neighborhood in central Austin, Texas west of Guadalupe Street and its namesake, the University of Texas at Austin. Due to its proximity to the university, West Campus is heavily populated by college students.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lausanne Hall</span> Building on the Willamette University campus in Salem, Oregon, U.S.

Lausanne Hall is a college residence hall at Willamette University in Salem, Oregon, United States. Built in 1920, the red-brick and stone-accented structure stands three stories tall along Winter Street on the western edge of the campus that was originally a residence for women only. The late Gothic Revival style building replaced a home that had also been used as a dormitory. This structure was moved to campus and originally was named as the Women's College before assuming the name of Lausanne.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">University of Houston student housing</span>

Fifteen percent of University of Houston students live on campus. UH has several on campus dormitories: Moody Towers, The Quads, Cougar Village I, Cougar Village II, Cougar Place, and University Lofts. UH also has partnerships with three private complexes, Bayou Oaks, Cullen Oaks, and Cambridge Oaks.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Little Campus</span> Historic district in Austin, Texas

The Little Campus is a historic district and part of the University of Texas at Austin campus in Austin, Texas. Originally built in 1856 as the Texas Asylum for the Blind, the complex was used for a variety of purposes through the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. It was acquired by the University of Texas after World War I and listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1974.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">All Saints' Episcopal Church (Austin, Texas)</span> Historic Episcopal church in Austin, Texas

All Saints' Episcopal Church is a historic Episcopal parish church in Austin, Texas, United States. Built in 1899 on the edge of the University of Texas at Austin campus, the church has long-standing connections with the university's student body and faculty. The chapel was a project of Episcopal Bishop George Herbert Kinsolving, whose crypt is located under the church. It has been designated as a City of Austin Historic Landmark since 1980 and a Recorded Texas Historic Landmark since 2014, and it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2015.

References

  1. ↑ Berry, Margaret C. (2007). Scottish Rite Dormitory at the University of Texas : a history: 1920-2007. Nortex Press. OCLC   226371733.
  2. ↑ King, Amie Stone (ed.). It's a sardine's life for me : a memoir of the Scottish Rite Dormitory at the University of Texas at Austin. OCLC   857586771.
  3. ↑ Berry, Margaret C. (2007). Scottish Rite Dormitory at the University of Texas : a history: 1920-2007. Nortex Press. OCLC   226371733.
  4. ↑ "TSHA | Cochran, Samuel Poyntz". www.tshaonline.org. Retrieved 2022-02-16.
  5. ↑ "TSHA | Greene, Herbert Miller". www.tshaonline.org. Retrieved 2021-07-12.
  6. ↑ IT'S A SARDINE'S LIFE FOR ME. [Place of publication not identified]: NORTEX Press. 2017. ISBN   978-1-68179-103-6. OCLC   1012533539.
  7. ↑ "University of Texas Haunted Scottish Rite Dormitory: Dorm Lore Rises From an Elevator Shaft". ABC News. Retrieved 2022-02-16.
  8. ↑ Henry, Noelle. "Just in time for Halloween: Scottish Rite Dorm, other local Austin haunts are home to actual ghosts". The Daily Texan. Retrieved 2022-02-16.
  9. ↑ Menchaca, Megan. "Off-campus dorm increases restrictions on LGBTQ student".
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.