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HUNTINGTON UNIV MAGAZINE

New student residence to be named 'Livingston Hall'

FOR RELEASE February 1, 2008

HUNTINGTON, IN—Huntington University's new student residence will bear a name from the past. The facility, scheduled for completion in August, will be called Livingston Hall after a historic dormitory of the same name.

In selecting the name, the Huntington University Board of Trustees acknowledged that "the original Livingston Hall was home away from home for generations of students" and the name "continues to this day to evoke positive memories of campus life among the alumni who lived there."

The Huntington University Board of Trustees adopted the resolution naming the hall on Jan. 26. President G. Blair Dowden shared the news with the campus community on Jan. 29.

The original Livingston Hall was a student residence developed from a home built in 1897 by President Charles H. Kiracofe and later sold to theology professor Samuel L. Livingston. The house was converted to a women's residence in 1918 and later underwent two significant expansions and renovations. After additional student residences were built in the 1980s, Livingston Hall was converted to faculty offices. The building was demolished in 1988 and RichLyn Library was constructed on the site. 

The new Livingston Hall is now under construction. (View live images.) The modern student residence is designed to house 156 undergraduates. Construction began in the summer of 2007 and will be completed in time for the 2008 fall semester. (See story and photos from the groundbreaking.)

Huntington University is a comprehensive Christian college of the liberal arts offering graduate and undergraduate programs in more than 70 academic concentrations. U.S.News & World Report ranks Huntington among the best colleges in the Midwest. Founded in 1897 by the Church of the United Brethren in Christ, Huntington University is located on a contemporary, lakeside campus in northeast Indiana. The University is a member of the Council for Christian Colleges and Universities (CCCU).

Historical Background: The Original "Livingston Hall"

Livingston Hall was developed from a house built by Charles H. Kiracofe, first president of Huntington University, in 1897. The house was sold in 1903 to Huntington's professor of theology, Samuel L. Livingston and his wife when President Kiracofe moved from the College Park area to become editor of the Christian Conservator. When Livingston retired in 1916, he sold the house to the college. President Clare W. H. Bangs (who later served as Mayor of Huntington) used the house as his residence for two years until it was converted into a women's residence in 1918. The facility was expanded and enlarged in 1938. Brick veneer also was added. A final addition was completed in 1944, bringing the capacity of the residence hall to 50. The historic connection to Professor Livingston was so strong that the building became known as Livingston Hall. In 1964, a small chapel was built in the basement by then Director of Religious Life, Ray Zimmerman.  Zimmerman Chapel had seating for approximately one hundred. In 1982, after the construction of Baker Hall, Livingston Hall was converted to faculty offices. Livingston Hall was torn down August 16, 1988, after faculty offices were moved to the newly constructed Loew Center. In 1992, several former residents of Livingston Hall held a reunion. The planning group included Mary Lou Funk, Nola Kline, Joyce Howald, Barbara Fetters and Grace Ann Price. The ladies of Livingston celebrated the mentoring of Miss Irene Bergdall, their dorm mother, and shared many happy memories together.

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