Ogden Hall (Miami University)

History

In 1923 Laura Ogden Whaling donated $430,000 to Miami University to build a hall of residence in her brother’s honor. Her brother, George C. Ogden, graduated from Miami in 1863 and went on to receive his medical degree from the Ohio Medical College. It was part of her request that the Hall must be located west of the Herron Gym, directly across the street from Lewis Place, the President’s home. But the president did not want a building directly across from Lewis Place; he wanted green space on either side of the slant walk. So in order to keep with Laura Ogden Whaling’s wishes, Herron Gym was moved down the street to what is now the parking lot adjacent to Roudebush Hall.

The cornerstone of Ogden Hall was laid on October 12, 1923. The stone was laid by the Grand Master of the Masonic Lodge in Ohio, Mr. Harry S. Johnson, of Cincinnati. He was assisted by President Hughes, members of the Board of Trustees, and other University officials. Ogden Hall was the first men’s dormitory built on campus since the North and South Dorms were built. It also provided for a place for social activities, as it had a men’s auditorium, Y.M.C.A. quarters, game rooms, and a number of conference rooms, in addition to housing 114 men.

Ogden Hall was designed by Dittoe, Fahnestock & Ferber Architects and cost $330,000.00 to build in 1924. The general contractor was Fred Wood (Physical Facilities - Ogden Hall). It was to be a three-story red brick, stone trimmed, red tile roof Colonial building, which fit in with the rest of the architecture on campus (Ogden Hall Corner Stone to be Laid).

The Reid Hall Murder

On May 9, 1959 two men began fighting in Reid Hall, one of the men waving a gun around. Roger Sayles, the Resident Advisor for Reid Hall, tried to stop the fight. He was accidentally shot and killed in the process. The shooter then fled to a phone booth on the second floor of Ogden Hall, where he took his own life minutes later.

The Ogden Hall Wall

The rumor is that when Laura Ogden Whaling donated money to Miami University, in order to build a new men’s dormitory in her brother’s name, she made a demand that a wall should be constructed around the new structure to keep it private. After the dormitory was built, it was rumored that Miami did indeed build the wall, but underground. The rumored wall was actually the foundation of the old Miami gymnasium. The gymnasium had to be moved during the construction of Ogden Hall because of the location wanted by Laura Ogden Whaling for the dormitory. Currently there is a tradition that the “wall” was built to keep men out of what would become a women’s residence hall.

Present: recent renovation

In 1999, the building undertook renovations to update the building to then current accessibility and building code standards and to update the dinner facility. The new, state-of-the-art facility, Bell Tower Place, contains many traditional campus brands such as: “Home Style Traditions”, “Pizza Pi”, “Sonora Stop”, “Sunrise Bakery”, “The Bell Tower Coffee Company”, “Campus Grill & Steak House”, and “Uncle Phil’s Deli”. A new addition to Bell Tower Place was “Miami Spice”, a noodle-based menu format that utilized a new state-of-the-art concept in food preparation. At “Miami Spice” students are able to participate in the production of their meals, choosing ingredients and passing them directly to the cook. Also with this addition came the expanding of seating and a new outdoor plaza café.

Cincinnati-based architects, GBBN, carried out the renovations. GBBN Architects did 14,000 sq ft (1,300 m²). of renovation and a 7,000 sq ft (650 m²). addition to Ogden Hall. They created 9 food stations, 4 themed interior dining areas, a formal dining area, and an outdoor café (Ogden Hall). This new addition cost $6,103,444.00 and the projects contractor was Wright Seyferth. The building is currently used as a dining hall and a residence hall for upper-class female students.