Baker Hall including Seerley Hall for Men
From the time the Iowa State Normal School (now the University of Northern Iowa) opened in 1876 until the school's Boarding Department closed in 1892, housing was available on campus for both men and women. When the Boarding Department closed, students had to find housing in the boarding and rooming houses around Cedar Falls, particularly in the vicinity of College Hill. Most of the large houses around the edges of campus were built around the 1890s to meet the demand for student housing. However, college officials were concerned about student welfare and wanted to provide on-campus housing. In 1915, the college opened the first wing of Bartlett Hall to provide housing for about 125 women. Additional wings completed in 1916 and 1923 brought capacity to about 550 women.
In fall 1934 the Board of Education, predecessor to the Board of Regents, approved plans for a men’s dormitory. The $140,000 brick building would be similar in style to the Commons and the West Gymnasium. Architect Oren Thomas of Des Moines drew up the plans. Located south of the Campanile, it would provide housing for 110 men. Most rooms would be double accommodations, but there would also be 12 single rooms and three guest rooms. Double rooms would be 13 x 15.25 feet. Each room would have built-in desks and wardrobes, a restroom with hot and cold water, and electrical sockets. These features helped distinguish the dormitory from some boarding houses. The Commons would provide food service.
On April 9, 1935, the Board of Education agreed to name the new hall in honor of George Titus Baker, a member of the Board of Education from its inception in 1909 until his death on December 13, 1940. Baker served as president of the board from 1925 until 1940.
Contracts were awarded in June 1935. C. C. Larson of Council Bluffs was the general contractor, with plumbing and heating work by P. J. Gallagher Company of Faribault, Minnesota, and electrical work by Wack Electric Company of Council Bluffs. Work would begin shortly after July 1 and contracts would run 300 days.
By August 1935, ground was broken and work on the walls and supporting pillars progressed. By late September, the contractors had completed structural elements up to the roof. The floors and steps had been poured and masonry work would soon commence. The completion date was set for the start of summer term in June 1936, and contractors hoped to have the building enclosed for interior work before cold weather.
In February 1936, the College Eye student newspaper reported rent for a double room in Baker Hall would be $27-$30 per student per term. Daily housekeeping service would be provided. Public areas would include a lobby, a solarium, recreation rooms, showers, a kitchenette, a pressing room and a trunk elevator. Many of its elements featured Art Deco design.
Dean of Men Leslie Reed announced applications for rooms in the new building would be taken beginning April 6, 1936. Grace Griggs, Winifred Peck, and Mrs. J. B. Stewart were appointed housekeepers. Final grading and landscaping began in mid-May. The total expenditure for the building and its equipment was about $155,000. Also that spring, the Men's Union, the campus governing body for men, drew up plans for Baker Hall government. The new dorm would have a House Council consisting of the director of the dormitory and two representatives from each corridor. Rose Hanson, a critic teacher in the Campus School, would serve as Director of Baker Hall for the 1936 summer session.
The Baker Hall dedication ceremony was held May 27, 1936. S.J. Galvin, a member of the Board of Education, said it did not take the Board 10 minutes to decide to build the dormitory. Board member W. R. Boyd said, "When this building was planned - on the initiative of President Latham and over the protest of the man so honored, the board voted to name it the George T. Baker Hall for Men. What Mr. Baker has done for higher education in Iowa during the last twenty-seven years, only those closely associated with him in that work can fully know." Mr. Baker himself said, "I don't know whether I should cry or laugh, but I must frankly say, you do me a great honor."
The building opened in June 1936 for summer session students. Seventy-six of the 111 accommodations were filled. For fall term 1936, 109 rooms were occupied. Margaret Struble was appointed Director of Baker Hall beginning in September 1936. In late September, an office telephone system was installed and operated from 12 p.m. to 6 p.m. By late October, the House Council was working on several problems relating to telephone service, room inspection and communications. By spring 1937, the College Eye featured a column entitled "Baker Hall Doin's" which included news and gossip from the men's dormitory.
Madge R. Bock was named Director of Baker Hall beginning in September 1937 to replace Margaret Struble, who resumed her graduate study at Columbia University. Unlike women living in Bartlett Hall, men in Baker Hall were not required to “keep hours” and could come and go at will. Despite this, Bock reported most men were in the hall by midnight.
In May 1937, the college announced plans to build a second men's dormitory named in honor of Homer H. Seerley, president of the college from 1886 through 1928. Seerley Hall for Men would be built between Baker Hall and Wright Hall. It would resemble Baker Hall but have fewer architectural embellishments. Seerley Hall for Men would house 121 men in 52 double rooms and 17 single rooms. It would have a full basement, unlike Baker Hall, which had a half basement. The $155,000 project would be financed by profits from Bartlett and Baker Halls.
The Board of Education awarded contracts totaling $165,840 at their June 1937 meeting for an anticipated June 1938 completion date. Kucharo Construction Company of Des Moines was the general contractor. By late July 1927, excavation was in progress with foundation work to soon begin. While excavating, workers unearthed a five-ton boulder. By September, concrete had been poured on the first floor and forms set for the second floor. The project manager estimated the building would require about 150,000 bricks and 70,000 floor tiles in. Plastering was finished in late February 1938, and painting and marble work took the next several months. The building was completed by June but not occupied until the fall term 1938. The total cost of Seerley Hall for Men was $188,556.
Nina Jasman was the first Director of Seerley Hall for Men. She was succeeded by Mae B. De Pree in September 1940. The new hall elected its first council in mid-September 1938. Baker and Seerley Hall for Men were similar, and were later physically linked and combined into one unit for governance and administration.
While Baker Hall was built as a men’s dormitory, women occasionally occupied the hall. In summer 1941, many women were enrolled in the summer session and men’s enrollment had declined with the approach of the United States’ involvement in World War II. Women studying for their teacher certification also lived in Baker Hall in summer 1942. Later that year, the college contracted with the Navy to house and train Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service (WAVES) units on campus. The WAVES, who began arriving in December 1942, would live in Bartlett Hall. Women students would live in Lawther and Seerley Halls. Baker Hall would remain a hall for male students, but three or four would be housed in double rooms and two men would be in singles.
In early 1943, the college also contracted to house and train Army air crews on campus. Women would be moved out of Seerley Hall and back to Lawther Hall or private homes to accommodate the trainees, who would in addition occupy portions of Baker Hall. By spring 1943, only 18 male students were registered to live in Baker, and the college decided against operating a dormitory service for men until war conditions improved.
The college’s contract to house and train Army air crews ended in spring 1944. Women occupied Baker Hall in summer 1944. In fall 1944, women occupied Seerley Hall and men occupied Baker. By fall 1945, Seerley Hall again became a men’s dormitory. In spring 1946, the college announced plans to build a third men's dormitory just south of Baker and Seerley Halls. It would cost $300,00 and house about 200 men. Although discussed throughout the late 1940s, it was never built.
Postwar living conditions in the men's dormitories were very crowded: 290 men lived in accommodations for 229 in spring 1946. By fall 1946, after the college converted recreation rooms into barracks space, 421 men lived in the two dorms. In summer 1947, several men started a small radio station in Baker Hall, while others tried to establish a snack bar in the basement.
In fall 1947, the barracks space was reconverted to recreation rooms. Intramural competition between Baker and Seerley Halls was re-established in spring 1949. During fall 1949, residents of Baker and Seerley Halls ratified new constitutions incorporating stronger democratic standards into hall governance.
In fall 1953, Seerley Hall for Men became the first campus dormitory to have a television; it was installed in the solarium. Men were allowed to bring their female dates into the solarium from 7 a.m. until 9:45 p.m. The television was turned off at 10 p.m. Sunday through Thursday to remove temptation to neglect their studies.
In January 1955, the Board of Education approved a $385,000 addition to link Seerley and Baker Halls. It would join the two buildings and extend south from their junction. There would be 112 students in double rooms, although it was likely rooms would be tripled to bring the number of residents to about 140. The addition would include an elevator. The new Seerley-Baker Hall would be directed by one person and divided into nine housing units named for Iowa governors. The project was completed as scheduled and opened for occupancy in fall 1956.
In June 1961, the Board of Regents changed the name of Seerley-Baker Hall to George T. Baker Hall to eliminate the hyphenated name. College officials wanted to preserve President Seerley’s name on an academic building, so the Regents approved renaming the Library Building to Seerley Hall.
Conditions in Baker Hall remained crowded while the college addressed the need for more men’s housing - a 1961 letter in the College Eye discussed "beds for three, desks for two, and closet room for (?)." The completion of Rider and Shull Halls in the early and mid 1960s helped alleviate some of the overcrowding, as did the late 1960s plans for the Towers Complex dormitories, Bender and Dancer Halls.
In February 1969, the Regents approved converting Baker Hall from a dormitory to a classroom and office building. Residents would move to Bender Hall. Plans called for remodeling the east wing to English Department offices and using the west wing for women’s residences until Dancer Hall was complete. In September 1969, 250 women moved into the west wing and faculty offices and classrooms moved into the east wing. The Residence Department experimented with varied living arrangements in the hall - six to eight women could share living space and make their own arrangements for sleeping and study. As for the offices, English professor Louise Forest said, "It is marvelous to have an office of my own where I can talk to my advisees without having them feel like they have to tell their problems to twenty-four other people in the room."
With the change from a residence to academic use, the university agreed to reimburse the dormitory system for the use of the space. Initially the university paid $12,365 per year for the portion not used for housing. By the 1970-1971 school year, the building was solely a classroom/office building, and the fee increased to $35,818.
In March 1971, the Board approved a major remodeling project to fully convert Baker Hall into an academic building. The first departments to reside in Baker Hall were the Departments of English Language and Literature, Educational Psychology and Foundations, Foreign Languages, and Philosophy and Religion. Administrative units were also a part of the original group and included the Bureau of Religious Activities, Social Research Center, Clerical Pool, Credit Union, Day Care Center, Educational Opportunities Program and Special Community Services, Environmental Studies, Honors Program, Journalism, and Personnel. Academic Computing Services was also housed there for many years.
In 1980, fire doors and safety partitions were installed. In 1986, Room 134 was named to honor Professor Josef Fox, a long-time professor initially in the Department of English and later in the Department of Philosophy and Religion. Later, Room 161 was named the Thompson Commons after Thomas Thompson, who served on the faculty from 1952 through 1994 as a professor of philosophy, head of the Department of Philosophy and Religion, and Dean of the College of Humanities and Fine Arts. In 1996, Baker Hall received electrical and exterior repairs, and deteriorating Art Deco architectural elements were removed.
The building was then home to the Departments of Modern Languages; Philosophy and Religion; Psychology; Sociology, Anthropology, and Criminology; and English Language and Literature. The Women's Studies Program, the Culture and Intensive English Program, and the Iowa Academy of Science were also located there.
Baker Hall was scheduled for a $9.9 million renovation to begin around 2010. However, in August 2007, university staff noticed mold growing in several areas of the building. According to a February 8, 2008 article in the Northern Iowan student newspaper, an environmental testing company, Advanced Environmental, found 36 offices in Baker Hall had allergen levels higher than those in outside air. A cleaning company sanitized 26 Baker Hall offices. University officials said the mold could have been caused by poor housekeeping, dusty books and papers, window air conditioners or plumbing problems. Several faculty members moved to other spaces as a result.
In June 2011, the university reported on its plans for Baker Hall and Bartlett Hall to the Board of Regents. The report stated architects had determined renovation of Baker Hall would cost as much as constructing a new building. Consequently, the university proposed demolishing Baker Hall and converting Bartlett Hall from residence hall facilities to offices and laboratory space. The cost for demolition and renovation would be about $21 million. The Regents approved the recommendation. Bids went out in May 2012 for work completion in 2014. Stickfort Construction Company, of Hudson, Iowa, was awarded the contract.
In late 2013 and early 2014, offices in Baker Hall moved into the newly-renovated Bartlett Hall. The university conducted a sale of surplus office furniture and shelving in early 2014. The building was then demolished starting in March 2014 by Stickfort Construction Company of Hudson, Iowa.
Compiled by Library Assistant Susan Witthoft and volunteer Julie Peterson; edited by University Archivist Gerald L. Peterson, July 1996; substantially revised by Gerald L. Peterson, with research assistance by student assistants Jordan Ockerman and Anthony Boggs and scanning by Library Assistant Gail Briddle, April 2005; updated by Student Assistant Matthew Bancroft-Smithe, February 26, 2021; updated by Library Assistant Hannah Bernhard, March 2026.