McCormick Road Dormitories

The McCormick Road Dormitories (generally referred to as Old Dorms) are one of two main areas of first-year living dormitories at the University of Virginia, the other being the Alderman Road Dormitories. Ten houses make up the residence area located on McCormick Road. The dormitory area was constructed in 1950 and holds nearly 1300 students. Although older and lacking in modern amenities compared to "New Dorms," Old Dorms are closer to Central Grounds, contain larger rooms, and have a unique student culture.

After World War II, the University was in need of more student housing as college enrollment numbers swelled across the country due in part to the passage of the G.I. Bill. After several locations were considered, an old golf course was chosen as the site of the new dormitories. The construction marked the expansion of grounds westward across Emmett Street, where Old Dorms, New Dorms, the Engineering School, science buildings, the Aquatic and Fitness Center, and Scott Stadium sit today. The architects, Eggers and Higgins, decided upon a Georgian revival style that was later complemented by other new additions to the University, including Newcomb Hall and New Cabell Hall. Because the dorms were not completed until three weeks after the start of the 1950 fall semester, the inbound students due to live in the dormitories had to sleep in the Memorial Gymnasium until their completion. Although the dormitories were originally all male housing, Old Dorms became co-ed when women were officially allowed to enroll as undergraduate students in 1970. Still, the floors of each house are unigender. WUVA, a University of Virginia radio station, was housed in the basement of Lefevre House until the mid-1990s.

There are ten total houses in the McCormick Road Residence Area. Each house is named after a professor who contributed to the University. The houses are(in alphabetical order):

Except for Bonnycastle and Hancock, which are free-standing buildings, each house is connected to one other house at the corner. This forms four units of “L-shaped” buildings that surround each other, with Bonnycastle and Hancock in the back. The houses are connected as follows: Page and Emmet, Kent and Dabney, Echols and Humphreys, and Lefevre and Metcalf.

Rooms in McCormick Road Dorms are typically double-occupant rooms. Each double occupant room contains two captains beds, two desks, two bookshelves, two chairs and a large closet. Each room contains a radiator, a large window with blinds, but no air conditioning. The dimensions of each double-occupancy room are 16 feet by 12 feet. All of the furniture is movable, but cannot be removed from the room during occupancy. Single-occupancy rooms are located on the edges of the halls and contain a lofted bed, and a desk. Bonnycastle and Hancock rooms are set up differently. Each room contains 2 bunkable beds and 2 built-in closets with drawers. The rooms are the same size as others in the residence area.

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