Maricopa Residence Hall
“The Crown Jewel of UA housing”
- Steve Gilmore, the UA Associate Director of Housing Assignment Services and Occupancy Management.
Location:
Maricopa is located within the University of Arizona Campus’s Historic District. It is accompanied by two other residence halls, Gila (pronounced Hee-la) and Yuma on either side. These three dorm halls are known as the “Historic Lane”. Both Gila and Yuma were completed by 1937. The residence halls or dorms are located near central campus. They are very close to “Old Main” , another historic staple on campus. They are also within 5 minutes walking to the University of Arizona’s Student Union and Campus Mall.
Historic District Significance:
According to the University of Arizona Business Affairs Planning, Design, and Construction department, there is a 33 acre Historic District on campus that was created in 1986. This represents the preservation of history on campus dating back from 1891 - 1937. The Historic District is on the National Register Historic District - (https://www.tucsonaz.gov/preservation/national-register-historic-districts - scroll down to West University Historic District - (listed 1980, amended 2017)) Nominated in both 1969 and in 2017 as a historic district - check it out! The historic district contains both landscapes and buildings. Seventeen of those buildings are on the University of Arizona’s campus.
Craftsmanship:
Maricopa was inspired by Territorial Queen Anne Style which incorporated asymmetry, tower inspired, picturesque images, textured brick or wood, and elaborate windows. With Maricopa being made out of red brick, along with most of the buildings in the historic district, there was a clear display of detailed and fine craftsmanship. The most distinct Queen Anee Style that Maricopa in particular possessed and what it is most famous for is the entrance. The pristine white collumbs in the front of the building that are still there today makes it a destination for all. I often see students taking graduation photos at this location because it is so picturesque.
1969:
Now:
“TheHistoric Preservation Plan was produced as a companion document to the 2003 Comprehensive Campus Plan and specifically addresses main campus historic resources”
Did you know?
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Maricopa Hall is the oldest building that still serves its purpose as a residence hall
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Its classical Queen Anne style by contractor, Phoenix firm of Lescher and Kibbey in 1918 and transferred over to architects Tucson firm of Lyman and Place in the 19th century, was restored and is still seen now when you visit this dorm hall
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Maricopa Hall is the only all women dorm hall on campus
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Maricopa Hall is three stories high
Formal Drawing Room for entertainment 1969:
Now:
Formal Entryway Inside 1969:
Now:
ROOMS:
**There used to be a sleeping porch area where all of the residents would sleep in the same room**
After its changes in the late 1980s, there were individual rooms built next to each other, each consisting of:
LAYOUT:
Bed Size: 80" (extra long Twin XL)
Furniture: Moveable desk
Bunkable: No
Flooring: Tile
Closet Size: 24"x36"
Closet: No Door
Size of Dorm: 106 capacity
Price: $$
Room Type: Single,Double,Triple
Bathroom: Community
Sink in Room
Access Features: Wheelchair accessible suite/attached bathroom
Cost:
Total Academic Year rate as of 2020
[Triples] $6,390
[Doubles] $7,170
[Singles] $10,750
Utilities:
WIFI, Electricity, gas and water, air conditioning and heating
Amenities:
24-hour staff/front desk staff, safe, clean, secure living spaces, communal kitchen, laundry facilities, ice and vending machines, study rooms, recreation lounges, bike racks, water bottle refill station, ATM, and outdoor courtyard area
HAUNTED MARICOPA MYTHS:
There have been many versions of the story to prove that Maricopa is haunted. Here are a few different versions of stories:
1. Myth of the “Presidential Mansion” :
(https://tucson.com/news/local/a-look-at-the-ua-s-maricopa-hall-and-its/collection_8f1f3a1a-9f46-11e8-b2ea-0fd5a10fb68e.html#2)
“In 1914, Arthur Herbert Wilde, the UA president at the time, proposed, designed and had authorization to build the structure as his place of residence. The new building was to serve as his private mansion but before he could begin the project, Wilde accepted a position with Boston University.”
FALSE according to Steve Gilmore, the UA Associate Director of Housing Assignment Services and Occupancy Management who says that there was just a need for more housing and new dorms as others were being constructed on campus
2. Extension:
“Rufus B. von KleinSmid, who replaced Wilde as president. Between 1919-1921 at a cost of some $174,187, construction began on the original two-story presidential residence. By 1921, a third floor was added. It was said that for reasons known only to von KleinSmid, he never moved into the residence” and refused talk about it or step foot in it.
MOSTLY TRUE “construction did begin and end under KleinSmid, but again, it was never meant to be a presidential mansion” (Gilmore).
3. Myth of the “Duel in the Desert”:
“In the 1860s, a bitter rivalry between two dance hall entrepreneurs escalated at a meeting of the Tucson Vigilante Committee in downtown Tucson. It is said the two women took their horse-drawn wagons and bolted out of town and headed east to the open desert. The duel in the desert was fatal for one of the women, who was said to have cursed her nemesis as well as the desert area where she lay dying.” This, being the grounds of what soon was Maricopa Hall. “In 1919 when it was said a UA student who was engaged, found her fiancé in a compromising position. Despondent, the woman found her way to the president’s mansion still under construction and was discovered hanging from one of the bathroom ceiling gas pipes on the drafty second floor.”
UNKNOWN
4. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7LvpFJQLXFc
Haunted House
Each year one of the Historic dorms in Historic Lane have a Haunted House or Haunted Carnival to scare residents and remind them of its “haunted past”.
Sources:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7LvpFJQLXFc
http://www.uofamystery.org/Hauntingof.htm
https://housing.arizona.edu/dorms/maricopa
https://pdc.arizona.edu/planning/historic.html
https://livingnewdeal.org/projects/university-arizona-tucson-yuma-hall-tucson-az/
TAGS:
https://localwiki.org/tucson/University_of_Arizona
https://localwiki.org/tucson/Old_Main%2C_University_of_Arizona
https://localwiki.org/tucson/Bear_Down_Gym
https://localwiki.org/tucson/Greek_Row
https://localwiki.org/tucson/USS_Arizona_Memorial
https://localwiki.org/tucson/Arizona_Historical_Society