Purdue News
Purdue News
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Venerable Cary first of modern residence hallsCary Quad occupies an important place in the life of Purdue University. The five-unit quad was built in phases from 1927 to 1941. Cary East was the first, and its construction marked the beginning of the modern residence hall system at Purdue.
Students had lived on campus in earlier years. Two of the original four buildings on campus when classes first were held in 1874 were used for student housing.
Boarding Hall, located near what is now the State Street entrance to Founders Park, housed faculty and female students - after they first were admitted in 1875 - and was the dining hall. Men lived in The Dormitory, later known as Purdue Hall.
As enrollment grew, construction didn't keep pace. Both buildings were given over to classroom and office space. By the turn of the century, boarding houses and fraternity houses provided room and board for students.
In 1927, Lafayette industrialist Frank Cary offered the University $50,000 to build a residence hall as a memorial to his son, Franklin Levering Cary. The younger Cary had died in 1912, the same year he was to enter Purdue as a freshman.
Several years later, Cary made a second gift to Purdue. That was used to help build Cary Northeast.
The remaining units were built with grant money through the Depression-era Public Works Administration and bonds sold by the University.
Story by Jay Cooperider
Purdue News Service: (765) 494-2096; e-mail, purduenews@purdue.edu
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