Four classic UTA dormitories and their afterlives

The purpose of The Compass Rose is to raise awareness of Special Collections' resources and to foster the use of these resources. The blog series also reports significant new programs, initiatives, and acquisitions of Special Collections. 

This blog post explores the history of four classic dormitories on the UTA campus (Brazos House, Lipscomb Hall, Pachl Hall, and Trinity House) and their ultimate fates. All four were built between the mid-1930s and early 1960s and represent a much different style of student housing than more modern residence halls such as Arlington Hall, Kalpana Chawla Hall, and West Hall. Three of the four have been demolished in the last two decades (two within the last five years), while the fourth is being removed from service this fall and will likely be demolished in the near future. Another point of similarity between these four dormitories is that three of them were or will be replaced by green space, while only one of them has been replaced by another building. Of special interest to both former residents of these three dormitories as well as those interested in the development and evolution of the UTA campus, below are more detailed accounts of the lives and afterlives of all four of these dormitories.

Brazos House was built as a men's dormitory in 1936 with federal Public Works Administration funding (Barker & Worcester 2015, p. 37) (Saxon 1995, p. 62). It was dedicated under its original name, the "North Texas Agricultural College Young Men's Dormitory," on April 28, 1936. The four-story, semi-fireproof building had 64 rooms intended to house two students each (Vertical File Material on Brazos House). In fall 1949, the building was renamed Davis Hall, and in fall 1967 it was renamed Brazos House. According to UTA president Jack R. Woolf, "following the motif used in naming Trinity House for the Trinity River, this building is named for the Brazos River" (Vertical File Material on Brazos House). Brazos House achieved fame as the first coeducational dormitory in Texas (Barker & Worcester 2015, p. 37) and was also historically home to members of the university's corps of cadets (Garonzik).

In April 2018, UTA executive director of auxiliary services Eric Leidlein observed that renovating Brazos House would be very expensive and that the structural changes necessary to modernize it would have substantially reduced its capacity (Farr). Even in 2018, the building's 82nd year of operation, Brazos House did not have central heating. It was also the smallest-capacity dormitory on campus at that time, housing just 96 students. In the words of a statement released by the university, Brazos House had come to "a point where routine maintenance is insufficient and substantial reinvestment would be required to extend its useful life" (Douty).

Physics freshman Taylor Gross, who lived in the building in spring 2018, had mixed feelings about it: "It's old. It's cute. I like it," but also "it's just unhealthy" (Douty). UTA alumnus and long-time Brazos House resident Angelo Rios described the dormitory as being a "small, dysfunctional family," and fondly recalled the residents' "bra bridge" tradition, the annual hanging of bras on trees around the dormitory to raise awareness about breast cancer and money for finding a cure (Morr 2018a).

After the demolition of Brazos House in July 2018 (Morr 2018b), the land on which it stood was redeveloped into Brazos Park, a green space featuring an open-air stage that was partially built with material from Brazos House (Hernandez). In August 2019, Brazos Park was officially opened during Waffleopolis, a UTA tradition that dates back to Brazos House. The park's stage, which is fitted with a light and sound system, was specifically designed for hosting a wide variety of events (Cardona 2019). Among numerous others, events held at Brazos Park include Juneteenth celebrations (Coit and Manalastas), live music (Dinh), and yoga (Abraham).

Lipscomb Hall opened in 1957. The original three-story building, now referred to as Lipscomb South, was joined in 1963 by Lipscomb North (Landrum). It was built as a women's dormitory with funding from the Permanent University Fund via the Texas A&M University System, which the university was still a member of at the time (Saxon 1995, pp. 78–79). The building was named for Ina Lipscomb, who was the dean of women and an English professor at what is now UTA from 1927 to 1945. As she was still living at the time Lipscomb Hall was opened, university president E. H. Hereford had to obtain an exception to the Texas A&M University System's rule that buildings on its campuses could only be named for people who had been dead for at least five years. At the time that Ina Lipscomb arrived at what was then North Texas Agricultural College, fewer than 100 female students were enrolled. During her time on campus, she became an early and consistent advocate for a women's dormitory (Bishop).

The 1963 expansion added room for 192 more female students (mostly in three-bedroom suites) at a cost of $650,000, bringing the building's total capacity to 341 students. At the time, it was the only dedicated female dormitory on campus. Its interior design was very similar to Trinity House and its exterior made of mostly brick with limestone trim. The building was also notable for having air conditioning, which was remarkable at the time (Arlington State College Presents Lipscomb Hall Addition 1963).

In fall 2020, UTA began using Lipscomb Hall to quarantine students who tested positive for or were exposed to COVID-19. In April 2021, UTA announced that it would remove Lipscomb Hall from service by fall 2021 and eventually demolish it. At the time, it was the oldest dormitory on campus, and after the demolitions of Brazos Hall in 2018 and Trinity Hall in 2019, it was the last dormitory of its generation remaining. UTA plans to demolish Lipscomb Hall due to it being prohibitively expensive to renovate. The university plans to turn it into a green space as an expansion to the adjacent Green at College Park (Landrum). After the university's decision to demolish Lipscomb Hall, Shorthorn writer Samantha Knowles opined that it "was not a quality living accommodation." She observed that the building had problems with bed bugs, maintenance (especially with its bathrooms), and its HVAC (heating, ventilation, and air conditioning) system (Knowles). UTA alumna and former Lipscomb Hall resident referred to the building as "just dirty" while broadcast and communication junior Jacob Denham, who had to quarantine in the building, described it as looking "like something out of The Shining" (Landrum).

Pachl Hall was opened in December 1949 with capacity for 140 students. The three-story building was named after Delmar Pachl, an art instructor who was killed on Leyte Island in the Philippines during World War II (Tharp) ("UTA Resident Hall Honors Delmar Pachl"). Built at a cost of $300,000, the dormitory was dedicated with a regimental parade by the school's corps of cadets on December 4, 1949, with Pachl's brother Max in attendance (Dempsey). The dormitory was also officially dedicated to all other university students, faculty, and staff "who died with him in the cause of our liberty" during the war (Farman). Similar to Lipscomb Hall, it was built as a men's dormitory with funding from the Permanent University Fund via the Texas A&M University System (Saxon 1995, pp. 78–79). It served as a men's dormitory throughout its existence (Suhas).

In 1999, UTA reported that Pachl Hall would likely be demolished due to the high cost of renovating it (estimated at $2.4 million), which on a by-square-foot basis would make it more expensive to renovate than to build an entirely new replacement dormitory. By the late 1990s, the building lacked some amenities that other dormitories on campus already had, such as Internet connectivity. International business sophomore Josh Biffle opined that Pachl Hall was "liveable" and "sufficient for my needs," while information systems junior Adam Carter worried that "they're going to tear it down and build one that we can't afford" (Suhas).

After 51 years in service, UTA demolished Pachl Hall in December 2000 and January 2001 (Tharp) (Yegge). The building had been deemed too expensive to rehabilitate, due to issues such as asbestos in its walls and less-than-desirable amenities like community showers. UTA turned the site of the building, between the CAPPA Building (then the Architecture Building) and the University Administration Building (then Davis Hall) on the west side of campus, into a park (Tharp). Housing and university center director Wyl Parker noted that "Pachl Hall served its purpose, but it was getting to be an antiquated facility" (Yegge). Residence life and conference housing director Craig Zemmin noted his desire to have the green space that succeeded the dormitory named Pachl Hall to preserve Delmar Pachl's legacy on campus. Despite its capacity of 132 students during the fall 2000 semester, the last for Pachl Hall, it housed only 50 residents (Yegge).

Trinity House was built as a men's dormitory in 1963 (Arlington State College Presents Trinity House 1963) (Saxon 1995, p. 80). Tentatively referred to as Pachl West, it was built at a cost of $690,000 at the same time that Lipscomb Hall was built (Arlington State College Presents Trinity House 1963) (Vertical File Material on Trinity House). Trinity House accommodated 270 male students when it opened, which more than doubled the number of beds available for male students on campus at the time. Like Lipscomb Hall, it predominantly consisted of three-bedroom suites that each accommodated six students, two to each bedroom. The building boasted air conditioning, which was considered notable at the time, and an exterior made of face brick, Texas fieldstone, and limestone (Arlington State College Presents Trinity House 1963).

In November 2019, the University of Texas System Board of Regents voted to replace Trinity House with an administrative and faculty support services building. The entire project, including both demolition of Trinity House and construction of the replacement building, was estimated to cost $26 million. University president Vistasp Karbhari noted that the new building would include meeting rooms, spaces for training, and a media production room as well as house the Office of Information Technology and Center for Research on Teaching and Learning Excellence (Farr 2019). Trinity House was demolished in December 2019 and January 2020 (Silva Ramirez). In February 2020, the UT System Board of Regents approved funding for the replacement building, with construction beginning in March and expected completion in December 2020 (Cardona 2020). The replacement building, officially named Trinity Hall by August 2020, was by that point expected to be open by spring 2021 (Farr and Perez). As of May 2021, the building is still under construction ("Project List").

Abraham, Dejah. 2021. "Campus Recreation hosts Sunset Yoga to fight virtual fatigue." The Shorthorn, April 14, 2021.

Arlington State College Presents Lipscomb Hall Addition. 1963. Arlington, Texas: Arlington State College.

Arlington State College Presents Trinity House. 1963. Arlington, Texas: Arlington State College.

Barker, Evelyn and Lea Worcester. 2015. University of Texas at Arlington. Charleston, South Carolina: Arcadia Publishing.

Bishop, Nanci. 1969. "Dorm named for teacher." Arlington Daily News, July 1969.

Cardona, Megan. 2019. "Brazos Park grand opening to be hosted during Waffleopolis." The Shorthorn, August 19, 2019.

Cardona, Megan. 2020. "UT System Board of Regents approves funding for Administrative and Faculty Support Services Building." The Shorthorn, February 26, 2020.

Coit, Taylor and Ritchie Manalastas. 2021. "Arlington Black Chamber of Commerce, UTA host Juneteenth celebrations with community leaders." The Shorthorn, June 17, 2021.

Dempsey, Hugh. 1949. "Pachl Hall Dedication, Parade On Sunday." The Shorthorn, December 6, 1949.

Dinh, Ai-Vy. 2021. "Spring Music Fest, a symphony concert and a guided meditation class in this week's To-do List." The Shorthorn, April 28, 2021.

Douty, Samantha. 2018. "Brazos House to be demolished soon." The Shorthorn, April 25, 2018.

Farman, Irvin. 1949. "Hundreds See Pachl Hall Dedicated to ASC War Dead." Fort Worth Star-Telegram, December 12, 1949.

Farr, Colby. 2018. "Brazos House to close, new residence hall to open." The Shorthorn, April 11, 2018.

Farr, Colby. 2019. "UT System Board of Regents to vote on converting Trinity House into an administrative building." The Shorthorn, November 13, 2019.

Farr, Colby and Angelica Perez. 2020. "University Center grand entrance completed, Trinity Hall project underway." The Shorthorn, August 26, 2020.

Garonzik, Bunky. 2018. "Davis Hall or Brazos House--Remembered." Reveille. Arlington, Texas: UTA Cadet Corps Alumni Council. July 2018.

Hernandez, Rocio. 2018. "Brazos House to blossom into Brazos Park." The Shorthorn, August 22, 2018.

Knowles, Samantha. 2021. "Opinion: UTA's decision to phase out and demolish Lipscomb Hall is long overdue." The Shorthorn, May 3, 2021.

Landrum, Kevin. 2021. "Lipscomb Hall to be discontinued by fall 2021, eventually demolished." The Shorthorn, April 28, 2021.

Morr, Rebekah. 2018a. "Brazos bricks to help build new green space." The Shorthorn, June 4, 2018.

Morr, Rebekah. 2018b. "It's going down." The Shorthorn, July 19, 2018.

"Project List: For Website." 2021. Arlington, Texas: University of Texas at Arlington. May 13, 2021.

Saxon, Gerald D. 1995. Transitions: A Centennial History of the University of Texas at Arlington, 1895-1995. Arlington, Texas: UTA Press.

Silva Ramirez, David. 2019. "Trinity House to be demolished to make way for $26M faculty support building." The Shorthorn, November 26, 2019.

Suhas, Dana. 1999. "Pachl Hall demolition possible." The Shorthorn, February 17, 1999.

Tharp, Robert. 2000. "Headed for Level: Park planned where UTA dormitory is being razed." Fort Worth Star-Telegram, December 28, 2000.

"UTA Resident Hall Honors Delmar Pachl." 1997. UTA Today. Arlington, Texas: University of Texas at Arlington. November 3, 1997

Vertical File Material on Brazos House on the University of Texas at Arlington Campus, Special Collections, The University of Texas at Arlington Library.

Vertical File Material on Trinity House on the University of Texas at Arlington Campus, Special Collections, The University of Texas at Arlington Library.

Yegge, Kathryn. 2001. "Pachl Hall razed; park plans start." The Shorthorn, January 16, 2001.