Ruskin Hall
Encyclopedia
Ruskin Hall is a residence hall at the University of Pittsburgh
University of Pittsburgh
The University of Pittsburgh, commonly referred to as Pitt, is a state-related research university located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. Founded as Pittsburgh Academy in 1787 on what was then the American frontier, Pitt is one of the oldest continuously chartered institutions of...

 and a contributing property
Contributing property
In the law regulating historic districts in the United States, a contributing resource or contributing property is any building, structure, or object which adds to the historical integrity or architectural qualities that make the historic district, listed locally or federally, significant...

 to the Schenley Farms National Historic District
Historic district (United States)
In the United States, a historic district is a group of buildings, properties, or sites that have been designated by one of several entities on different levels as historically or architecturally significant. Buildings, structures, objects and sites within a historic district are normally divided...

.https://www.dot7.state.pa.us/ce_imagery/phmc_scans/H050656_01H.pdfhttp://mac10.umc.pitt.edu/u/FMPro?-db=ustory&-format=d.html&-lay=a&-sortfield=issueid%3a%3aissuedate&-sortorder=descend&keywords=bellefield%20hall&-max=50&-recid=38544&-find=. Constructed in 1921-22 by H. L. Stevens & Company, with an annex added in 1925-26, it is an eight story building which is located between the Music Building
Music Building (University of Pittsburgh)
The Music Building is an academic building of the University of Pittsburgh in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States, and a contributing property to the Schenley Farms National Historic District. The original mansion was designed by Longfellow, Alden & Harlow as a sandstone Richardsonian...

 and Information Sciences Building between Ruskin and Bellefield Avenues near Fifth Avenue on Pitt's main campus in the Oakland neighborhood of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. http://www.pc.pitt.edu/housing/halls/ruskin.html Ruskin Hall recently underwent a $19.4 million conversion and renovation from medical student housing into undergraduate apartment-style housing that opened in 2008.

History

Originally built in 1921-22 by H. L. Stevens & Company as the Ruskin Apartments, an annex facing Bellefield Avenue was added in 1925-26. The building has long seen usage by Pitt students, including use as the meeting place of the Omega Delta fraternity until the fall of 1926.http://digital.library.pitt.edu/cgi-bin/t/text/pageviewer-idx?c=pittyearbooks;cc=pittyearbooks;g=documentingpitt;xc=1;xg=1;q1=ruskin%20apartments;rgn=full%20text;idno=1929e49702;didno=1929e49702;view=image;seq=0168 Pitt purchased the Ruskin Apartments in February 1958 for $2.24 million ($ in dollars) as an investment, with the intention of using it eventually for faculty residences. Following the purchase, Pitt Chancellor Edward Litchfield
Edward Litchfield
Edward Harold Litchfield was an American educator and the twelfth Chancellor of the University of Pittsburgh. He is best known for a major expansion of the university, but also a failure to raise sufficient capital to fund such growth, eventually leading to his resignation in July 1965.He earned...

 held a tea for the 189 remaining tenants, many of whom were elderly, well-to-do widows, to ensure them that their leases and the staff and management would be maintained as long as they wished to stay. http://digital.library.pitt.edu/cgi-bin/t/text/pageviewer-idx?c=pittmiscpubs;cc=pittmiscpubs;g=documentingpitt;xc=1;xg=1;q1=ruskin%20apartments;rgn=full%20text;idno=00c50130m;didno=00c50130m;view=image;seq=0284
With time, the apartments were relinquished giving Pitt full control of the building.

In 1966, Richard King Mellon
Richard King Mellon
Richard King Mellon , commonly known as R.K., was an American financier from Ligonier, Pennsylvania.-Biography:The son of Richard B. Mellon, nephew of Andrew W...

 donated $1,075,475 ($ in dollars) to the University to refinance and retain possession of the Ruskin Apartments so they could be used for members of the house staffs of the University-affiliated hospitals and their families.http://digital.library.pitt.edu/cgi-bin/t/text/pageviewer-idx?c=pittmiscpubs;cc=pittmiscpubs;g=documentingpitt;xc=1;xg=1;q1=ruskin%20apartments;rgn=full%20text;idno=00c50130m;didno=00c50130m;view=image;seq=0364

Ruskin Hall has also served as the home for University offices including those of the University of Pittsburgh Press.http://mac10.umc.pitt.edu/u/FMPro?-db=ustory&-format=d.html&-lay=a&-sortfield=issueid%3a%3aissuedate&-sortorder=descend&keywords=Ruskin%20Hall&-max=50&-recid=38414&-find=
Through 2007, Ruskin Hall served as the primary residence for medical students and PhD candidates in the basic sciences of medicine, although students of other medical-related schools (including dental, nursing, and pharmacy) could be wait-listed for apartments.http://www.pc.pitt.edu/housing/halls/ruskin.html Beginning in the summer of 2007, medical student housing was replaced by the Darragh Street Medical Student Housing complex, allowing for a $19.4 million renovation by Graves Design Group to convert Ruskin Hall into undergraduate apartment-style housing was completed for fall 2008.

Facilities

Previously serving as a primary residence for medical students, Ruskin Hall contained 176 studio, efficiency, or one- to two-bedroom apartments each containing a living room, one to two bathrooms, and a kitchen. A ground floor study area, central courtyard, and laundry facilities were available and the building was outfitted with central air conditioning.http://mac10.umc.pitt.edu/u/FMPro?-db=ustory&-format=d.html&-lay=a&-sortfield=issueid%3a%3aissuedate&-sortorder=descend&keywords=Ruskin%20Hall&-max=50&-recid=36451&-find=http://www.pc.pitt.edu/housing/halls/ruskin.html

A $19.4 million renovation was completed in 2008 that converted the Hall into an undergraduate residence hall with 178 apartment-style units with 416 beds in one, two, and three-person apartments and single-person efficiency apartments. The furnished apartments include private baths and kitchens and have cable and internet connection. Commons areas are also equipped with wireless internet. A University of Pittsburgh Police mini-station in Ruskin Hall was also part of the renovation.http://mac10.umc.pitt.edu/u/FMPro?-db=ustory&-format=d.html&-lay=a&-sortfield=issueid%3a%3aissuedate&-sortorder=descend&keywords=Ruskin%20Hall&-max=50&-recid=39070&-find=

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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