The Tri Dorms

Named For: Clarence A. Shaler, a student in the Ripon preparatory department during the 1870s. Shaler made his fortune in tire vulcanizing. He was also a sculptor, who created and contributed the statue of Abraham Lincoln which stands west of Farr Hall as well as the Genesis statue between West and Middle Halls.

Location: The eastern wing of Tri-Dorms, bordered by Seward Street on the north, Thorne Street on the south. Johnson Hall is west of Shaler and Hughes House is east of it.

Cost: $160,000.

Date of Construction: 1939.

Architect: Originally designed by Thomas Tallmadge, a well-known Chicago architect, as part of the Tallmadge Plan -- an attempt to plot the physical expansion of the campus -- which the Board of Trustees endorsed in 1938. The Tri-Dorms were the only buildings designed by Tallmadge and located according to his plan.

Capacity: 35.

Former Uses: Tri-Dorms (total capacity: 102) were originally used as men's dormitories. Omega Sigma Chi fraternity (later Sigma Chi) occupied Shaler.

Present Uses: Since World War II, Tri- Dorms have housed freshmen women.

Alterations: In 1988, under President Stott, the Tri-Dorms underwent a $3 million renovation and, as one then-freshman put it, deserve the name "Tri-Condos." Installations in 1988 included kitchens, a music practice room, computer room, exercise room, quiet study room and lounges.

References: Pictorial Review, p.10; Fact Sheet, p.1.