Cody Hall

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• Oops, I wanted to clarify that, but couldn't figure out how to edit my reply. Yeah Electa is definitely still a residence, what I meant was that the top floor conference room is condemned from being used as an event area.

  That conference room is on top of the 4 story addition you mentioned Andrew. Electa has two sides, Main (original building) and the Annex (1960s addition). I can say for sure that the basement is creepy, quite likely haunted. I work weekends in facilities services on campus and once got to go in the abandoned Electa basement lunch room... apparently Electa was at a time used as part of Assumption College's Catholic Nun Education Program. The lunch room is filled with asbestos though, and is usually locked... which I suppose is a good thing!

  The University Tunnels are something else too!! Mike Beauchamp has a great map of them somewhere on his site. Someday, boy, I'd love to poke my nose down there without getting caught ;)

• Cody Hall has ceased to function as a residence twice now--it was reopened a few years back with minor repairs (window replacement, for instance)--but has been closed once again. The stacked, two-storey, atrium style lounges which occupy the center of the building are an impressive feature also. My guess is that Residence Services has no intention of reusing Cody--they are going ahead with a plan to twin Alumni Hall on Sunset Ave instead. Cody--which is a traditional dormitory style building has likely been branded as too expensive to overhaul--despite it's significant geographic placement on campus.

  The lounge you speak of at Electa is called the MacPherson Lounge and was the official Alumni reception center until the later 1990s, as well as being available for various other functions including weddings and banquets--as it has full wet bar facilities and some food prep space. The view is spectacular--and until the mid 1990s the outdoor terrace was also in use. It fell into disrepair first and was closed--followed by the room--which is structurally sound by horribly dated in it's decor and furnishing. That particular building also has intermittent problems with vermin--a problem that was particularly bad in the MacPherson Lounge. Prior to the construction of Alumni Hall--the Alumni Association planned an overhaul of MacPherson--including a full renovation of the room and the addition of a dedicated elevator which was to be glass-enclosed and located on the north side of the building--affording a view of the river. The facility was to be rennamed in honor of Ron Ianni. Nonetheless this plan fell through due to funding and logisitcs issues.

  Electa is quite the place--with a partially intact chapel and confessionals in the Annex section--and a fantastic old Otis elevator complete with manually operated doors in Main.

• The neglect of the great MacPherson lounge is one of the drawbacks of a university that doesn't have the $1.2 billion endowment that U of T has. In my two degree-time at U of W, I only went to one function up there (though I would say the decor was "wonderfully" dated).

• Yeah the decor is very nice. The SOLID wood chairs are still very impressive, but the carpeting looks pretty withered away. The outdoor portion of the hall is, as described above, in terrible disrepair. Wooden planks rotting and such. It would be quite the place if restored..

  I think the Alumni Society probably gave up on the place once they got their new Leon Z. MacPherson lounge at Alumni Hall south of Wyandotte.

  Cataloging the buildings at the University would be a fantastic project Andrew, something even book worthy (you'd have a buyer here!). I'd really love to know what firm designed MacDonald & Laurier Halls and what else (if any) they contributed to around the region.

• I was working for an electrical contractor a few years back and got to have my first look at the MacPherson lounge. For whatever reason, I never realized it existed until then, but it's definitely a great space (if a tad run-down) with an incredible view. Even better, we got to go up on the roof which was a treat indeed. The view from up there is mindblowing.

• I sometimes wonder if there was a factory that did nothing but build college dorms in the late '50's and early '60's. Although I like Mid Century stuff, it can look very generic if not well executed......

• I spent four academic years living and working on campus--lived in Mac, Tecumseh (demolished), Cartier, Mac (again), Clark and Electa. Mac and Laurier are nearly (but not quite) identical--there are subtle difference and Mac, for the record, has a few more architectural "flourishes" of it's era. The dining hall--Vanier Hall--the twin rooms on either side of the servery--those were truly, madly and wonderfully dated when I started at the U of W in 1993--it was worth a visit just to see the brown and orange drapes. I got a nasty teal and chrome 90s reno that it's now stuck with.

  I shouldn't have slammed the old MacPherson Lounge--I like it a lot--the carpet and window coverings are in the roughest shape--but agreed--the color scheme and furnishings are pretty cool in a 70s way.

• Can't believe my old dorm is now dormant...went to U of Windsor in the fall of 1988 and spent my first year at Cody...Jeff(Geoff) Maguire where are you??? The old place is still up but our room is empty...where are you now?

• I live in Electa Hall this year... The top floor (the old McPhearson lounge, now called the Eagle's Nest) is still used by students. The balcony however is no longer in use as it is dangerous because it's rotting. The basement is very creepy. I want to write a fictional book set in Electa Hall, but I need to know where I can find a decent history of the building. Does anyone know where I could find one?

• What a shame to learn of the imminent demise of Cody Hall. I lived there during its first three years - a welcome change after having spent one year in the old St. Mike's Hall across the way. My last year in Cody, I and Bill "Scar" Scarfia (from Rochester N.Y.) were prefects on the fifth floor, with our private office, attached bedroom and private bathroom. Back then it was the very latest in college residence design and comfort, especially with those two double-storey central lounges, not to mention the main downstairs lounge off the lobby.