Cretin Hall is one of the male undergraduate residence halls at the University of St. Thomas

University of St. Thomas (Minnesota)

The University of St. Thomas is a private, Catholic, liberal arts, and archdiocesan university located in St. Paul and Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States...

 in Saint Paul, Minnesota

Saint Paul, Minnesota

Saint Paul is the capital and second-most populous city of the U.S. state of Minnesota. The city lies mostly on the east bank of the Mississippi River in the area surrounding its point of confluence with the Minnesota River, and adjoins Minneapolis, the state's largest city...

. It resides on the South Campus, which is just south of the historical Summit Avenue. Cretin was originally constructed as the South Student Residence Building for the Saint Paul Seminary

Saint Paul Seminary School of Divinity

The Saint Paul Seminary School of Divinity, located in Saint Paul, Minnesota, was founded by Archbishop John Ireland in 1894, to provide ordained priests for the ever-increasing Catholic population of the Upper Midwest. The seminary now sits on the south campus of the University of St. Thomas,...

 in 1894. It was designed by famous architect Cass Gilbert

Cass Gilbert

- Historical impact :Gilbert is considered a skyscraper pioneer; when designing the Woolworth Building he moved into unproven ground — though he certainly was aware of the ground-breaking work done by Chicago architects on skyscrapers and once discussed merging firms with the legendary Daniel...

, who also designed Cretin's two sister buildings, Loras Hall and Grace Hall. In 1987 Cretin was acquired by St. Thomas and in 1989 it was renovated for use as a residence hall.

Cretin Hall is named after the first Roman Catholic Bishop

Bishop

A bishop is an ordained or consecrated member of the Christian clergy who is generally entrusted with a position of authority and oversight. Within the Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox Churches, in the Assyrian Church of the East, in the Independent Catholic Churches, and in the...

 of St. Paul, Joseph Crétin

Joseph Crétin

Joseph Crétin was the first Roman Catholic Bishop of Saint Paul, Minnesota. Cretin Avenue in St. Paul, Cretin-Derham Hall High School, and Cretin Hall at the University of St. Thomas are named for him....

. Initial funding came from a $500,000 donation by Great Northern Railway President James J. Hill

James J. Hill

James Jerome Hill , was a Canadian-American railroad executive. He was the chief executive officer of a family of lines headed by the Great Northern Railway, which served a substantial area of the Upper Midwest, the northern Great Plains, and Pacific Northwest...

. Hill’s donation paid for the construction of the Cretin Residence Hall and its twin, Loras Residence Hall.

Cretin Residence Hall is a four and one-half story, hipped roof building faced in red pressed brick and designed in what Gilbert called a “Northern Italian style.”

Specifications

Cretin houses 90 students on 5 levels. Community bathrooms with private shower stalls are located on each floor. Common areas include a service desk, computer room, recreation area, kitchenette

Kitchenette

A kitchenette is a small cooking area.In motel and hotel rooms, small apartments, college dormitories, or office buildings a kitchenette usually consists of a small refrigerator, a microwave oven or hotplate, and, less frequently, a sink...

, laundry room and recreation and TV areas. Cretin Hall is also home to the Ultraviolet Café.

Seventy-five percent of Cretin accommodations are two-person suites consisting of a living room (9' x 13') and bedroom (7' x 13') with 8'6" ceilings. Smaller single-person suites are also available on the 5th floor. Each student is provided a bed, dresser, closet or wardrobe, desk and desk chair; all furniture is movable. Most rooms are not carpeted.