Lothrop Hall
Encyclopedia
University of Pittsburgh
The University of Pittsburgh, commonly referred to as Pitt, is a state-related research university located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. Founded as Pittsburgh Academy in 1787 on what was then the American frontier, Pitt is one of the oldest continuously chartered institutions of...
's main campus in the Oakland
Oakland (Pittsburgh)
Oakland is the academic, cultural, and healthcare center of Pittsburgh and is Pennsylvania's third largest "Downtown". Only Center City Philadelphia and Downtown Pittsburgh can claim more economic and social activity than Oakland...
neighborhood of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Lothrop Hall is located adjacent to the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center
University of Pittsburgh Medical Center
The University of Pittsburgh Medical Center is an $9 billion integrated global nonprofit health enterprise that has 54,000 employees, 20 hospitals, 4,200 licensed beds, 400 outpatient sites and doctors’ offices, a 1.5 million-member health insurance division, as well as commercial and...
on Lothrop Avenue near Fifth Avenue, this hill is often referred to as "cardiac hill" due to its steep grade and its accessibility to medical care. The Hall is made up of 14 floors, some of which are segregated by sex in each wing (north and south). Most rooms in the hall are single occupancy (with sinks), with some double occupancy as well. The dorm houses 723 men and women, in addition to a resident director, a program coordinator, and 20 resident assistants.http://www.pc.pitt.edu/housing/halls/lothrop.html
History
Previously known as the Nurses' Residence, Lothrop Hall originally served as a 650-room residence hall for University of Pittsburgh nursing students. Construction was begun in 1950 and completed in May 1953 at a cost of $4.5 million.http://digital.library.pitt.edu/cgi-bin/t/text/pageviewer-idx?c=pittmiscpubs;cc=pittmiscpubs;g=documentingpitt;xc=1;xg=1;q1=nurses%20residence;rgn=full%20text;idno=00c50130m;didno=00c50130m;view=image;seq=0228 The residence was official dedicated on May 11, 1953 which corresponded to the 133rd anniversary of the birth of Florence NightingaleFlorence Nightingale
Florence Nightingale OM, RRC was a celebrated English nurse, writer and statistician. She came to prominence for her pioneering work in nursing during the Crimean War, where she tended to wounded soldiers. She was dubbed "The Lady with the Lamp" after her habit of making rounds at night...
. During the dedication, a brick from the Florence Nightingale Home was presented. During financial hardships of the university in the early 1960s, it was one of five buildings mortgaged as security in 1963.http://digital.library.pitt.edu/cgi-bin/t/text/pageviewer-idx?c=pittyearbooks;cc=pittyearbooks;g=documentingpitt;xc=1;xg=1;q1=nurses%20residence;rgn=full%20text;idno=1954e49702;didno=1954e49702;view=image;seq=0183http://digital.library.pitt.edu/cgi-bin/t/text/pageviewer-idx?c=pittmiscpubs;cc=pittmiscpubs;g=documentingpitt;xc=1;xg=1;q1=nurses%20residence;rgn=full%20text;idno=00c50130m;didno=00c50130m;view=image;seq=0321 By 1976 its name had been changed to the Lothrop Street Residence.http://digital.library.pitt.edu/cgi-bin/t/text/pageviewer-idx?c=pittfact;cc=pittfact;idno=1976a073698;node=1976a073698:4;size=l;frm=frameset;seq=63 By 1979, it was known by its current moniker, Lothrop Hall.http://digital.library.pitt.edu/cgi-bin/t/text/pageviewer-idx?c=pittfact;cc=pittfact;rgn=full%20text;idno=1979a073698;didno=1979a073698;view=image;seq=73;node=1979a073698%3A10;page=root;size=s;frm=frameset; Lothrop Street itself is named for Sylvanus Lothrop, a prominent engineer and businessman who constructed the first locks and several major bridges on the Monongahela River
Monongahela River
The Monongahela River is a river on the Allegheny Plateau in north-central West Virginia and southwestern Pennsylvania in the United States...
in the 1830s and 1840s.
Facilities
University of Pittsburgh
The University of Pittsburgh, commonly referred to as Pitt, is a state-related research university located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. Founded as Pittsburgh Academy in 1787 on what was then the American frontier, Pitt is one of the oldest continuously chartered institutions of...
. Lothrop Hall is directly connected, via a skywalk, to the School of Nursing in the Victoria Building and adjoining University of Pittsburgh Medical Center facilities.http://www.umc.pitt.edu/tour/tour-121b.html
The Hall is appreciated for its single rooms and the sinks in every room. The Hall is criticized, however, by its residents for a lack of air conditioning
Air conditioning
An air conditioner is a home appliance, system, or mechanism designed to dehumidify and extract heat from an area. The cooling is done using a simple refrigeration cycle...
and for its distance from most main Pitt facilities (such as the Cathedral of Learning
Cathedral of Learning
The Cathedral of Learning, a Pittsburgh landmark listed in the National Register of Historic Places, is the centerpiece of the University of Pittsburgh's main campus in the Oakland neighborhood of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States...
and the Dining Facilities).
In addition, for many years Lothrop Hall contained medical offices on its lower floors. In 2010, Pitt announced that it had allocated $1.56 million to convert existing office space into 47 additional beds for undergraduate housing in Lothrop. Because of a student housing overflow in 2010, the lounges were converted into 4-person rooms for a total of 52 new beds.