Breen-Phillips Hall

Breen-Phillips hall is one of the 32 Residence Halls on the campus of the University of Notre Dame and one of the 14 female dorms. Breen-Phillips is on North Quad, between Farley Hall, Geddes Hall, and the Hesburgh Library. Established in 1939, it hosts 200 students.

Breen-Phillips Hall
Residence Hall
University of Notre Dame
Campus quadNorth
NicknameB-P
MottoLand of the Free, Home of the Babes
Established1939
Named forWilliam P. Breen and Frank B. Phillips
ArchitectMaginnis and Walsh
Architectural styleVernacular collegiate gothic
ColorsBlue and pink    
GenderFemale
RectorAngie Hollar
Undergraduates200
Postgraduates2
ChapelSaint Francis of Assisi
MascotBabes
CharitiesAmerican Diabetes Association, Meals on Wheels, Hoops for Hope
Major eventsBathrobe Breakfast, Meal Auction
WebsiteSite

History

In the 1930s, enrollment at Notre Dame was increasing by about one hundred a year, but on campus space was limited.[1] This both forced students to live far from campus and was a loss of potential room and board income for the university.[2] President John Francis O'Hara decided to build three new residence halls to remedy this problem: Cavanaugh in 1936, Zahm in 1937, and Breen-Phillips in 1939.[3][4][5] These three dormitories were intended to comprise a new quadrandrangle, then named Freshman Quad, presently North Quad.[5] In order to accommodate these buildings it was necessary to demolish Freshman and Sophomore Halls (which were low quality temporary structures) and the east wing of St. Edward's Hall. Breen-Phillips was built on the east end of the Fieldhouse and formed the eastern edge of the new North Quad.[2][1][5] Groundbreaking took place on March 27, construction started May 5, and the cornerstone was laid May 5, 1939 and blessed by president O'Hara and superior general James A Burns.[6][7][8][3] It was built in collegiate Gothic style (although less elaborate and ornate than Alumni and Dillon) by Boston-based architects Maginnis and Walsh, who worked on several other projects at Notre Dame.[2][9][5] It was built in 165 days, and it was ready to host 185 freshmen on September 12 and its first rector was Rev. George Holderith, CSC.[10][3][11]

Breen-Phillips

Construction cost more than $300,000 and was donated by brothers-in-law benefactors attorney William P. Breen (class of 1877) and banker Frank B. Phillips (class of 1880), both from Fort Wayne.[12][8][13][14][3][4] The university received $400,000 as a beneficiary of their estates after their passing.[5] Breen, who was admitted to the Indiana bar in 1879, was member of the firm Breen & Morris, member of the American Bar Association and of the Indiana Bar Association, of which he was president 1903–1904.[15] He was also director of the Notre Dame Board of Trustees, president of the Alumni Association in 1908–1909, and benefactor of the Breen Medal for oratory.[16]

Originally, it was a Freshman hall and it hosted the athletics department on its first floor, including the football coach Frank Leahy's office, and the football ticket office.[17][10][18] Moose Kraus' office was also hosted in Breen-Phillips.[19] The athletic office moved in late August 1939.[3] It was previously housed in the Main Building.[20] The football office was moved from Breen-Phillips to Rockne Memorial in Match 1959.[21]

It hosted naval officers during World War II when the university was used by the Navy for training purposes.[12][22] During the 1960s the dorm was known as Stalag B-P, a riff on the 1953 film Stalag 17 about a German prisoner-of-war camp during World War II, in reference to the strictness of the rector of the time, who was also of German descent.[23] In 1963, the residents of the second floor of Breen-Phillips embarked in an in-hall marathon, and for 2 days straight walked up and down their hall while tiddlywinking for a total distance of 50 miles.[24][25][26]

It was converted in a female dorm in 1973.[27][28] Renovations for the transition to a woman's dorm included increased storage facilities and more washing and drying equipment.[29][30][31] The addition of BP as a women's dorm, together with Farley Hall, was a major step towards coeducation, increasing the female population from 360 to 775.[30][31] It underwent major renovations.[32] In 2014 it celebrated its 75th anniversary with a series of events.[33]

The Sister Mary Catherine McNamara served as rector from 2012 to 2018, and she held Bachelor of Science from St. John College of Cleveland and a Master of Science in Education from the University of Akron.[34] The current rector is Angie Hollar, a Mishawaka native who earned a bachelor's degree in Social Work from Saint Mary's College in 2011 and then entered the Advanced Standing Master of Social Work program at the University of Pennsylvania, followed by a Master of Divinity degree at the Jesuit School of Theology at Santa Clara University.[35]

Description

The hall is a four-story brick building built in vernacular collegiate gothic architecture, but without elaborate decorations found in other neo-gothic buildings such as Alumni or Morrissey.[2] The basement features a 24-Hour Hang-Out Space (the Pen), a Kitchen, a Study room, a Pink 'cafe' room (mainly used for studying and meetings). a Workout room (treadmills, ellipticals, weights, etc.), a Laundry room, and a Movie room (movies, TV, & books!). The chapel, dedicated to Francis of Assisi, is located on the 1st floor.[36] It has entrances on each side of the building, facing Farley Hall, North Quad, and the Fieldhouse mall. It is staffed by one rector, two assistant rectors, and six resident assistants, one for each of the six sections.[36]

Notable residents

References
  1. "Notre Dame Tops Enrollment Mark". The Indianapolis Star. October 29, 1939. p. 21.
  2. Blantz, Thomas E. (2020). The University of Notre Dame : a history. [Notre Dame, Indiana]. p. 316. ISBN 978-0-268-10824-3. OCLC 1182853710.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  3. "New N.D. Hall Ready Sept. 12". South Bend Tribune. September 3, 1939. p. 5.
  4. "Social and Personal". Garrett Clipper. March 30, 1939. p. 3.
  5. "Notre Dame Starts $300,000 Dormitory". The Tablet (Brooklyn). April 29, 1939. p. 12.
  6. "Ground Cleared for New Hall at Notre Dame". South Bend Tribune. March 26, 1939. p. 15.
  7. "Cornerstone of New N.D. Dormitory is Blessed". South Bend Tribune. May 6, 1939. p. 2.
  8. "Lay Cornerstone" (PDF). Scholastic. Vol. 72, no. 25. May 12, 1939.
  9. "Build New N.D. Dormitory". The Times of Northwest Indiana. March 27, 1939. p. 16.
  10. "Freshmen Occupy New Breen-Phillips Doubles" (PDF). Scholastic. Vol. 73, no. 1. September 22, 1939.
  11. "Breen-Phillips Hall Home for Hundreds of N.D. Freshmen". South Bend Tribune. September 14, 1939. p. 17.
  12. Vonada, Damaine. (1998). Notre Dame : the official campus guide. Notre Dame, Ind.: University of Notre Dame Press. ISBN 0-268-01486-8. OCLC 38870733.
  13. "Irish Legends: Campus Tour III". 247Sports. Retrieved March 21, 2021.
  14. "Important to the building trades". South Bend Tribune. November 12, 1939. p. 15.
  15. "New Altars put in N.D. Chapels". South Bend Tribune. March 10, 1932.
  16. "Notre Dame Alumnus" (PDF). Retrieved February 23, 2017.
  17. Fortuna, Matt. "Seven life lessons from an afternoon with Roger Valdiserri, a Notre Dame institution". The Athletic. Retrieved January 27, 2021.
  18. Smith, Red (November 11, 1949). "Views of Sport". Lancaster New Era. p. 20.
  19. Doyle, Joe (April 11, 1980). "They're honoring Moose, the man and legend". South Bend Tribune. p. 41.
  20. "N.D. tears down old infirmary". South Bend Tribune. April 29, 1939. p. 12.
  21. Doyle, Joe (March 4, 1959). "There'll be some other moving". South Bend Tribune. p. 33.
  22. BAKER, KENT. "Notre Dame says thanks to Navy". baltimoresun.com. Retrieved January 27, 2021.
  23. "Breen-Phillips hall portrait | Stories | Notre Dame Magazine | University of Notre Dame". Notre Dame Magazine. Archived from the original on October 21, 2020. Retrieved March 15, 2021.
  24. "Tiddly-Winking, and with 'Vigah'". The Des Moines Register. February 23, 1963. p. 7.
  25. "Record Claimed". The Morning Call. February 23, 1963. p. 1.
  26. "Tiddlywinkers". The Times of Northwest Indiana. February 24, 1963.
  27. "Breen-Phillips Hall". Office of Housing, University of Notre Dame. Retrieved December 23, 2015.
  28. Sulok, Nancy (March 7, 1973). "Notre Dame May Face Housing Shortage Because of Coeds". South Bend Tribune. p. 20.
  29. "Notre Dame Enrollment Estimated To Be 8,750". The Herald, Jasper Indiana. July 24, 1973. p. 11.
  30. "Coed enrollment with double at Notre Dame". Daily Journal (Franklin, Indiana). August 16, 1973. p. 9.
  31. August 16, 1973. "Notre Dame to Enroll Record". The Republic (Columbus, Indiana). p. 49.
  32. "Breen-Phillips & Zahm Hall renovations". South Bend Tribune. July 19, 2009. p. D3.
  33. "75th Anniversary – Breen-Phillips Hall". sites.google.com. Retrieved March 15, 2021.
  34. Dame, Marketing Communications: Web // University of Notre. "In Memoriam: Breen-Phillips rector Sister Mary Catherine McNamara". NDWorks. Retrieved March 14, 2021.
  35. Dame, Marketing Communications: Web // University of Notre. "Breen-Phillips Hall // Residential Life // University of Notre Dame". Residential Life. Retrieved March 14, 2021.
  36. "More Info – Breen-Phillips Hall". sites.google.com. Retrieved March 15, 2021.
  37. "Notre Dame directory 1965–1966" (PDF). 1965–1966. p. 96. Retrieved June 13, 2020.
  38. "Notre Dame Directory 1943" (PDF). Retrieved January 31, 2019.
  39. Condon, David (October 7, 1967). "In the Wake of the News". Chicago Tribune. pp. 2–5.

41°42′10″N 86°14′10″W

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