Dwight St. John Bobb Memorial Building and Charles McCulloch Hall were dedicated in 1955 as freshmen men’s dormitories, housing 198 freshmen each. This marked the first time Northwestern could house together a majority of the university's freshmen – previously, freshmen lived in fraternity houses or in dormitories with upperclassmen. The widows of Chicago attorney Bobb and Chicago businessman McCulloch contributed $400,000 each to the construction of the two $1 million dorms. However, Bobb and McCulloch could not totally relieve the school of its housing shortage, as 100 men were turned away from Bobb and McCulloch that year. The two went co-ed in 1973 and in 1980, they were connected as Bobb-McCulloch.
Fun fact: In 1994, a resident’s door was set on fire and vandals ripped out a water fountain. Not so fun for everyone else in the dorm.
The comfortable, spacious first floor living room came with upholstered easy chairs, card tables, a piano and televisions – the perfect place to hang out for a dorm filled with young adult men.
Bobb and McCulloch each had 100 doubles that were fireproof, with built-in furniture and curved study pods to maximize space usage in the rooms. They also boasted electric shaver outlets. In 1995, the built in-desks were replaced with moveable ones. Dated 1955.
A brightly lit common area – the perfect place to pull an all-nighter or engage in a game of table tennis. Dated 1955.