East Quad Public History Project

East Quad has been home to the RC since it was founded in 1967. Although the extensive renovations in 2012-2013 changed the physical space, the memories of the "original" East Quad still remain. Explore the stories below, collected from RC alumni, faculty, and archives.

About the Public History and Memory Project

The East Quadrangle Public History and Memory Project grew out of a special class on the history of the EQ taught by Residential College Professor Michelle McClellan in the Winter Term, 2012, as the overlapping communities that live and work in the quad were preparing to leave the site for the renovation (May 2012 to July 2013). It has been brought to fruition by Rosie Levine, RC Class of 2014, with help from various members of the RC faculty, staff and alumni community. Levine’s East Quad Memory Project began as an offshoot of McClellan’s class: Space and Place: Historic Preservation of East Quad. “Throughout the course,” Rosie writes, “we discussed the methods, theories and implementations of historic preservation. As the course continued I couldn’t help but feel that action was in the community to preserve East Quad’s memory and history than just discuss it hypothetically.

"What began as a small independent study project took on a life of its own as I began collecting memories, photos, experiences, and reflections from former RC students and East Quad residents. I was overwhelmed by the formative experiences people had in the very building I had lived in and called home for two years. Stories of friendship, classes, practical jokes, community and moreover – love for the building itself and what it provided."

The East Quad Memory Project has provided both a place for people to come together and share their memories of East Quad as well as a way for current students to learn about the history of this space. When the plans for renovations to East Quad were announced in 2009 – many students, faculty and alumni were concerned about the continuity of the RC experience, but it is clear from these memories and stories that the RC is much larger than the walls that house it."

The RC Original Plan

Photo Courtesy of the Bentley Historical Museum

In May 1964, The Michigan Alumnus reported on plans for the new Residential College:

"President Hatcher has notified me that the Regents have assigned 60 acres of University land between Fuller Road and the Huron River at the entrance to the North Campus for Residential College development."

Then Vice-President for Academic Affairs Roger W. Heyns announced the appointment of a Faculty Planning Committee with eleven members drawn from various departments of the Literary College and five consulting members from other Schools and Colleges of the University.

The area set aside for the Residential College is known to many a former student who ever flubbed a shot on the old Municipal Golf Course (see sketch). About two-thirds of it has been part of the golf course, while the remaining land is open, not now in use. The site provides a natural tie between the North Campus and the campus area south of the Huron River. Part of the Arboretum is directly across the river from the southeastern edge of the new College area.

Literary College members of the new Faculty Planning Committee, and their departments, are: Michael Benamou, Romance Languages; Carl Cohen, philosophy; Alan Gaylord, English; Wayne Hazen, physics; Stephen Kaplan, psychology; James Meisel, political science; Theodore Newcomb, sociology; Bradford Perkins, history; Allen Shields, mathematics; Lawrence Slobodkin, zoology; and Herbert Sigman, counseling.

Consulting members from other University units are: Stanford Ericksen, Center for Research on Learning and Teaching; Algo Henderson, School of Education; Irving Kaufman, School of Architecture and Design; Richard Wellman, Law School; and Frederick H. Wagman, Library."

The Michigan Alumnus
May 1964, Page 259

The Residence Halls

Photo courtesy of John Knox, RC Alumnus, 1970s

East Quad is divided into the “O” constructed in 1939 and the “H” constructed in 1947. The halls in the “O” - Burke Aaron Hinsdale House, Charles Ezra Greene House, Moses Coit Tyler House, and Albert Benjamin Prescott House – were named for noted professors in the University’s history. The original design had these halls all as separate units – all only accessible through the courtyard.

The “H” was constructed in 1947 to provide more housing for GI Bill veterans returning to college after the war. The new construction resulted in the creation of four new halls in the building - Charles Horton Cooley House, Henry Clay Anderson House, Joseph Ralston Hayden House, and Louis Abraham Strauss House.

In the 1940's, a student on the Hinsdale House Hall Council described the residence halls, and East Quad in particular, as "the best place to live for the serious student. In most ways it is more convenient, quieter, and offers more companionship than any other way of going to school."Each Hall Council organized social activities, outings, monthly newspapers, study lounges, and lectures for their hall and for the university at large, and the dorms functioned as a center of student life on campus. Balancing all of it against coursework was a constant problem. When East Quad got its first television in 1950, it raised concerns about students procrastinating, failing classes, and disturbing the quiet by yelling at the screen.

At its inception, the original plan was to house the new Residential College on a 50-acre stretch of land north of the Huron River, near where Mitchell Field currently sits. In 1967, those plans were delayed – indefinitely as it turned out – and the RC moved into Tyler and Prescott halls, and East Quad has been the RC's home ever since.

The halls and hallways of East Quad have provided non-conventional hang out spaces for RC students:

"So many nights sitting in the hallway, legs stretched across the half way point so that walkers had to dodge between feet and calves coming from both sides. Doing homework, smoking cigarettes all evening long because my roommate hated smoke and went to bed at 9, and others of us just wanted to be there. Much camaraderie, not sure how much studying but I did do well in the end. We had a cat, adopted from somewhere, she would go into heat and make the room even smaller. She disappeared over Christmas holidays but I am sure it was her that had taken up residence in the window of Border’s books. We always traveled in clumps, to study, to eat, to do whatever, always a group, except for those moments of great intellectual breakthroughs when the world seem so clear. But then I couldn’t choose a major, had to spin the wheel of choice that someone had put in the hallway downstairs. And of course it spun to what I was condemned to be, a Poli Sci major bound for good works and governments. Our dorm head (hall head?) was a Human Rights Party member, got us all involved in local politics and the leftover hopes from the 60’s. And marched against US involvement in El Salvador, too late for Chile. They lost the election but made a point. Was that Hinsdale? Not sure, the next year I had a single, painted a depressing sky blue, a Fall when I could not get out of bed before 10 and had to chose classes based on timing. Years later some doctor told me I had had mono, and that then explained it all for that miserable Fall. But out of that year I made friends and those friends are still mine today. "

- Rebecca Black (Thutch, Theta, Noidles), Class of ' 77

"When I joined the RC community as a freshman in the fall of 1973, I moved onto the 3rd floor of Hinsdale house, at the time the uppermost floor. Somehow or other, a group of us decided to take advantage of the obscure layout of the halls and staircases of East Quad. Over a break, or was it a weekend or maybe even the duration of a few all-nighters, the hallmates carefully scraped off the painted 3's from all the doors of the hall and the graphic artist of the group carefully replaced them with 4's. Thus we elevated the rooms from the 3rd floor to the 4th floor. To get from 4th floor Hinsdale to 3rd floor Greene, you only needed to descend the half-staircase at the end of the hall. However, to get from 4th floor Hinsdale to 3rd floor Hinsdale was another matter altogether. We explained to lost souls seeking directions, that the nearby staircases only stopped at the even numbered floors. There was a staircase somewhere at the other end of the building that came up to 3rd floor Hinsdale. What a bunch of merry pranksters, eh? To commemorate the event, we had t-shirts made (image below). Somehow my t-shirt shrank considerably and no longer fits.

East Quad's painted door numbers have since been replaced by brass plates. Were we responsible?'

- Mark Levine, Class of ' 77

The EQ renovation preserved the original halls, while making the building as a whole easier to navigate. The new plans separate public and residential spaces – making it both secure for the residents and open for non-resident students, faculty and community members to connect to the EQ in various ways.

The Benzinger Library

Although it is no longer a recognized part of the University Library System, "The Benz" still exists in East Quad as a library and a classroom.

Photo courtesy of John Knox RC Alum 1970’s

Often referred to informally as “The Benz,” the Benzinger library in East Quad has been the site of a long history of student involvement in their residence hall. The Benz was initially created in response to students’ requests for more collaborative and non-academic spaces in the building in the 1950’s. “Operation Ransom,” the grass-root movement that campaigned for more student spaces in East Quad, composed its own internal manifesto which it submitted to the University in 1954 to promote its goals. That document explains:

The plan for Operation Ransom was… to reaffirm President Hatcher’s statement: “That students should, throughout their University residence, be immersed in the finest cultural expressions of our age.”

- Courtesy of the University of Michigan Bentley Historical Archives

The project included the creation of the Benzinger Memorial Library, as part of the University library system. “Operation Ransom” also the creation of the WCBN studios, a snack bar (the precursor to the Halfway Inn), renovations to the dark room, and soundproofed music rooms. The University met all of these requests and granted members of the “Ransom Committee” permission to decorate and furnish these new spaces as they saw fit. Later changes to the layout and lack of space eventually moved the Benzinger Library upstairs and WCBN out of East Quad.

For many years, the Benzinger Library operated with student staff from the School of Information in charge of circulation. When the library was decommissioned as an official University Library in the early 2000’s, the students of East Quad continued to use the space for the circulation of books, records, movies and magazines. In 2005, when university officials proposed converting The Benz into a Community Learning Center and moving the library books off site, war raged between students and the University to determine who had control over the media and books shelved in the Benz. The Benzinger Library Collective, a student group organized to fight for student jurisdiction over the Benz’s materials clashed with University Housing staff – they fought for control of the materials, but in a larger sense the disagreements hinged on the question of how much autonomy ought to be granted to students and residents. To read more about this, check out the Michigan Daily article.

Over the years, various students have regarded the Benz in different ways - a quiet place to study, a center for student performance, a staging ground for issues of University or student control, or even the site of romance:

I met my wife in the RC back in '95. We both lived in EQ our freshman year, and she used to spend a lot of time in the Benzinger Library. I'd conspire to walk past the Benz dozens of time a day in an effort to accidentally-on-purpose run into her. So powerful was the Pavlovian conditioning of glimpsing her that when I was back in EQ a couple years ago I found myself craning to see into the Benz as I walked past, even though I know perfectly well she was back at our house.

- David Erik Nelson, RC Alum

The 2012-2013 renovation of the East Quad altered the configuration of the Benz – the size was decreased and the adjacent art gallery was moved from the side to the front – but efforts were taken to preserve its library feel. Currently, the book collection housed in the space is in the hands of the East Quad Book Co-op, one of the RC Forums. The Benz will be used during the day as a classroom and will retain its late afternoon and evening use as a place for studying, gathering, and performances.

Greene Lounge

Greene Hall in East Quad is named for Professor Charles Ezra Greene, former professor and Dean of the School of Engineering from 1895 until his death in 1903. Professor Greene was from an older generation of professors who brought strict discipline to university instruction – a Civil War soldier and Harvard-educated engineer, his austere presence garnered respect from his students and peers. Upon Professor Greene’s death in 1903, President Angell honored his memory and into the role he played in the lives of his students:

When Professor Greene, with his quiet reticent, undemonstrative temperament, succeeded to Professor Wood's chair, it required a little time for the students to appreciate his merits. But they came after a while to understand that this unassuming man had much to teach them, and that he was the sincere friend of every student who wished to do his duty. If he had a little of the military strictness in requiring full work of every man, they all learned that he held himself to the same fidelity in giving them the most helpful and thorough instruction. The success of his pupils in responsible posts is the proof of the value of his services to them, and from all parts of the land have come from those pupils grateful acknowledgments of their indebtedness to him and of their appreciation of him.

- President James B. Angell 1904

Professor Greene’s role as Dean helped establish the University of Michigan as one of the top programs for engineering in the nation. However, the ironies of such a strict and disciplined man bearing the name of the study lounge that is widely known as the hub of procrastination and all-nighters has not been lost on the student body:

Best memory(s): Every single east quad special dinner, every time I find Mike Perles studying in the Greene Lounge at 2 in the morning, every time I've wondered aloud as to what Charles Ezra Greene, the engineer, would think of a bunch of RC liberal arts kids hanging out in a room that bears his namesake, the 4th Tygre Lounge (the place to be at 3 in the morning once you realize that Greene Lounge has nothing left to offer), John Coats, Evening of Scenes and everything it stands for… both times someone set off the fire alarm this year and everyone in EQ had to wait on Willard street, Emily Pittinos' yarn in Greene Lounge, A03, Spanish lunch tables…

- Jacob Axelrad Class of 2014

I was a freshman in Greene House in 1962, before the Residential College began. But...we were all part of an experiment that evolved into RC in some ways. Everyone living at Greene House was encouraged to enroll in the same sections of some popular frosh classes. Faculty who taught these and their families were invited to dinner and after-dinner dialogue in the lounge on a regular basis. As a result, I got to know my English and philosophy professors very well.

- Don Rothman (Class of 1966)

The Halfway Inn and the EQ Music Co-op

The Halfway Inn was a hub of autonomous student activity in East Quad. A student-run café and performance venue, it embodied the grass-roots student-run character of the Residential College and left a deep impression on generations of East Quad residents. One former resident remembers the creation of the Halfway Inn:

“In early 1970, it was announced there would be a dining/entertainment venue in the East Quad basement. A contest was held to choose the name, with "The Halfway Inn" winning. Immediately dubbed The Halfass, music was added on Saturday nights. Since no construction design for the added volume had been considered, the few souls who occupied rooms on the first floor just above The Halfass were blasted out of their rooms one night a week. They made alternate sleeping arrangements wherever they could (a lounge, a friend's room) until a sound-deadening wall was finally installed.”

- Rebecca Hoppin Freeman, Class of 1973

In addition to providing late night snacks and a place to hang while waiting for laundry, the Halfway Inn’s performance space hosted bands, student groups, events and gatherings of all kinds…guests as well:

“I have a photo of Allen Ginsberg in the EQ cafeteria during one of his visits to the RC. He got snowed in in 1978 and spent three days in the EQ guest room. He did spend much of his time in the Halfass. He also spent at least one other visit in the Distinguished Visitors Suite. As did Jim Carroll, of Basketball Diaries fame. We had many other visiting writers during that time who all spent time in the EQ guest room. Some of them include Sandra Cisneros, Robert Creeley, Alice Notley, Anne Waldman, Bei Dao, and many others."

- Ken Mikolowski, Poet & RC Professor

The Halfway Inn was also home to the East Quad Music Co-Op, a student run music cooperative that books both local and touring bands to play shows. The EQMC has put on countless shows over the years for the RC and Ann Arbor community. Many former students recalled the energy and excitement of those shows:

“This was back in '98-99, I think....

I remember the first show I ever did sound for was at the Halfass...I had no idea what I was doing. I played with all the funny knobs on the big soundboard during this poor band's entire set. They asked for some technical change between each song, where most of those requests were fixes to silly mistakes I had made.

However, my favorite enduring memory is seeing Low for the first time. They were a pretty big touring act even back then, though nobody in the audience had any idea how to react to them. The bands that opened for them were a mix of fast punk, a bit of indie rock and even a weird noise-art project that nobody ever understood yet everyone wanted to be a part of.

The fascinating thing about that evening was when they took the stage. They finished their basic sound check...and stood there for a brief moment, as if something was wrong. I didn't realize what was going on at first, but the reasons for the shifting in the crowd became clear...everyone was sitting down. Like a wave from a football game that went in only one direction, the people right by the stage began to sit down on the floor, legs crossed, followed by the row behind them and so on until the entire crowd was sitting on the floor.

It was the most beautiful set of music I'd ever experienced. I moved out to the West Coast right after school...when they came to the Echo in Los Angeles...I stood all the way up front for the opening bands then sat down right in front of the stage when they came on. As if everyone shared my memory, the rest of the crowd did the same, just like they did at the Halfass...and my homesickness eased as I could feel myself back in the Halfass, back to where everything was new and right with the world, back before I really grew up."

- Nick Farr, RC Alum

Alas, the Halfway Inn did not survive the EQ renovations, though the quad now has a café on the first floor run by East Quad dining. The EQ Music Co-op lives on, as does this cookbook, passed down generation by generation.

East Quad Murals before the 2013 Renovation

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Do you know anything about these murals - who painted them, who modeled for them, where they were painted in East Quad? If you do, send the details to the RC office at rc.communications@umich.edu so that captions can be added to the photos.

Read about the Mexican muralist who created two of the murals above in 1978, courtesy of the Michigan Daily and the Bentley Historical Library.

East Quad's Eight Houses & their Names' Sake*

*Courtesy of Dan Madaj, RC alum '82 Creative Writing and Literature

Last Updated: 07/17/2026

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