By Maggie Biunno

When entering the University’s campus through the main gates, it is hard to miss the towering high rise buildings that reach out through the trees and are practically touching the sky. Located on the residential side of campus, these six dormitories reside rather close together, with some even found less than a minute away from the Student Center. Along with the other dorms on campus, these buildings are a home, away from home, for the many students that choose to live on campus at the University. It may seem difficult to find such a tall tower to be considered home, however each building has a story behind it. These stories bring personality and spirit to each dorm, allowing the students to settle comfortably in their room, whether they live in Alliance, Bill of Rights, Constitution, Estabrook, Enterprise or Vander Poel, and make it their own.

The high-rise dorms at the University are centrally located on the residential side of campus, making them an easy walk from any of the other dorms on campus, convenient for visiting friends. Residents and visitors are lucky to find many spacious parking lots surrounding these towers. These dorms are impossible to miss and probably the first sight that most people notice when entering the University campus. The towers each consist of about 12 to 14 floors, with a common area available for residents and a variety of different living arrangements such as singles, doubles, triples, and even studio-style rooms on the top floors. All of these dorms, with the exception of Bill of Rights, are co-ed.

Prior to the building of the tower dorms, the University was a commuter school that did not have any residential facilities on campus. In the early 1960s, the University contemplated whether to add dormitories to the campus. When the decision was made to finally build these structures in 1964, there was much debate about which style dorm would be best suitable for the students. From this time to the future, the University has created several different style dormitories, but the beginning started with the towers.

The construction began in 1966 to create the first dorms on the University’s campus. The first of the towers to be built were a section of a building deal the University formed with Warner, Burns, Toan, and Lunde, the Architects of New York. This deal was explained thoroughly in the Official Statement of Dormitory Authority of the State of New York, published on Dec. 1, 1964. It was called the Project and it was developed with several parts that would help improve the quality of the school. The building of a heating and cooling plant for the lower level of the Student Center and in other buildings would help make the students more comfortable. There would be an expansion of the library and Student Center, making the cafeteria offer more variety and snacks, like it does today.

Finally, there would be the construction of two tower dorms, named Alliance and Bill of Rights. These two dorms are 12 stories each with a basement that house approximately 400 students. The dorms were complete with 120 single rooms, 40 double rooms, an apartment for supervisory personnel, two passenger elevators, laundry facilities, lounge rooms, and a lobby control area that provided extended safety for the residents. Alliance and Bill of Rights were completed by September of 1966.

The tower dormitory was a great idea that expanded even further. By 1967, the Constitution and Independence towers were finished. Like the academic buildings on campus, it was the University’s decision to honor an important individual through re-naming a dormitory. Independence Hall was changed to George M. Estabrook Hall in honor of the man who was the mayor of Hempstead when the University was first established. He was mayor from 1935 to 1941 and a good friend of the University family. Along with being mayor and on the Board of Trustees for the University, his company, Estabrook Construction, built many of the schools that are in Hempstead.

The tower project was completed with the construction of Enterprise and Freedom in 1968. These set of dorms are set back the furthest of the towers from the Student Center. Once again, the University decided after a several years to change a name of another tower. Freedom was changed to W. Halsted Vander Poel. Vander Poel was a member of the Board of Trustees who served from 1951 to 1958. Vander Poel was of Dutch heritage and was extremely beneficial during times of acquisition of the land. He was very generous through out his life to the University.

The tower dormitories halls were the University’s first attempt to satisfy the needs of the students. Today, almost 40 years after they were built, they are still a popular place to be, whether students live there or not.

“I have a lot of friends in the towers,” Jean Kempster, a freshman political science major said. “When ever I visit, there are so many people and they always seem like they have a great time.”

The residents of the towers have many opinions on their living environment.

“I’m enjoying living in the towers. The community aspect of the floors is better than what would be found in Netherlands, for example, where you have just the suite mates,” Tim Ludwig, a freshman print journalism and philosophy major, said. “I’m trying to stay in the building and on the floor, but I want to move to a single apposed to the triple I live in now.”

“By living in one of the towers, I think I get to know my floor better compared to the people in suites,” Trish Kromer, a freshman biology major, said. “Everyone on my floor has formed a mini-community.”

Like Ludwig, she has found much friendship in her tower dorm. When asked if she would live in the towers, Kromer said. “I wouldn’t do it again. I just want my own bathroom.”

The tower resident halls at the University were the start of a new beginning. They were the first places on campus for students to live, creating a whole new environment. Through much contemplation, the University decided on several styles in order to best fit the interests of the students. Although there are multiple opinions on living in the towers, they were the University’s beginning attempt at something new and through it all, the individuals creating these buildings had the students in mind. This is something that should be recognized and remembered and even though the towers are not for everyone, the residents are able to create an enjoyable environment in their tall homes away from home.

(Image couresy Barbara Guzowski)