Smith Residence Hall is a residence hall of the Georgia Tech Freshman Experience.
Dedicated to John M. Smith, member of the first graduating class in Tech history

History of Georgia Tech

The history of the Georgia Institute of Technology can be traced back to Reconstruction-era plans to develop the industrial base of the Southern United States. Founded on October 13, 1885 in Atlanta, Georgia as the Georgia School of Technology, the university opened in 1888 after the construction...

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History

Smith Hall was designed by the architects Bush-Brown, Gailey and Heffernan and built for $614,000.

Smith Hall was originally designed as the athlete dormitory with a built-in cafeteria and hot tub. The cafeteria on the third floor has since been converted into a lounge but still retains the cafeteria serving line and salad bar. The room was the 6-man flex space in the Fall 2004-Spring 2005 and Fall 2005-Spring 2006 school years. Other dormitories experienced the flex spaces but not to the extent of Smith which could increase its capacity by 14 additional residents. The hot tub was located in the modern day Hall Director office and pipes from the tub remained in Smith up until Summer of 2003 during renovation.

Architecture and location

Smith is the largest Freshman Experience dorm by area with 5 total floors, allocating 4 for residents. 0 floor houses East Campus custodial services. The broad side faces North Ave and the building is flanked by Brown Hall

Brown Hall (Georgia Tech)

Brown Residence Hall is an all-female dormitory in the Georgia Tech Freshman Experience, dedicated in name of Julis L. Brown. It is located on the northeast corner of North Avenue and Techwood Drive. Brown Hall is the oldest active dormitory on campus, and is also the smallest of the institute's...

 and Williams Street. Smith was the Southeastern most point of campus until Georgia Tech's acquisition of the North Avenue Apartment Complex (formerly the Georgia State Village), and is closest to the last defenses of Atlanta

Battle of Atlanta

The Battle of Atlanta was a battle of the Atlanta Campaign fought during the American Civil War on July 22, 1864, just southeast of Atlanta, Georgia. Continuing their summer campaign to seize the important rail and supply center of Atlanta, Union forces commanded by William T. Sherman overwhelmed...

 during the Civil War

American Civil War

The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...

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The Southeast corner of Smith leads to a large foyer that opens into a walled in green space. This green space was the extreme Southeastern point of Georgia Tech from 1996-2007. Before 1996, Techwood Dorm was the Southeastern tip of Georgia Tech and in 2007 the acquisition of the Georgia State

Georgia State University

Georgia State University is a research university in downtown Atlanta, Georgia, USA. Founded in 1913, it serves about 30,000 students and is one of the University System of Georgia's four research universities...

 Village has once again displaced Smith as the closest Tech building to the Varsity

The Varsity

The Varsity is a restaurant chain, iconic in the modern culture of Atlanta, Georgia. The main branch of the chain is the largest drive-in fast food restaurant in the world...

. Smith is approximately 500 feet from the Atlanta landmark.