Hill Court

Land purchased in 1965.	Aerial Photo of Hill Court showing layout and tunnel connections

David Jayne Hill	John Rothwell Slater	Annette Gardner Munro	Asahel Clark Kendrick	Ryland Morris Kendrick	Arthur Sullivan Gale	Herman LeRoy Fairchild	Victor John Chambers

The original River Campus was bounded by the Erie Railroad and the Genesee River.  Additional land was available south of the Medical Center, but was not convenient to the academic campus.  In 1965, the University bought 16 acres from the City of Rochester between the Lehigh Valley Railroad and Mount Hope Cemetery for expansion and planned to build a large three-phase dormitory complex. The first phase of six four-story buildings housing 504 students began construction in the fall of 1966.  Later phases would being the total to 900.   Several strikes delayed the anticipated 1968 completion and the buildings were finally opened in September 1969, when the University was in the midst of a massive building projects.  As far as it known, nothing further was done to proceed with the proposed next phases.

A long, curving pedestrian bridge was built over the two railroads to connect the new dorms to the back of the Women's Residence Halls.

In 1968 the entire complex was named after second University President David Jayne Hill.  The six buildings were named after Victor John Chambers, Herman LeRoy Fairchild, Arthur Sullivan Gale, Asahel Clark Kendrick and his son, Ryland M. Kendrick, Annette Gardner Munro and John Rothwell Slater.  Kendrick's name was used earlier on Kendrick Hall on the Prince Street Campus, and Munro's on Munro Hall.

The buildings were renovated in 1984

References
1943 Dr Herman LeRoy Fairchild (1850-1943) Grave in Evergreen Cemetery, Brooklyn, Pennsylvania

1943 "Dr. Fairchild passes at 93: science dean," Democrat and Chronicle, November 30, 1943, Page 13 | Part 2 |
Famed geologist had won honors over world

1945 Proceedings Volume of the Geological Society of America for 1944, May 1945
Pages 185-222: Memorial to Herman Leroy Fairchild, by George Halcott Chadwick

1947 Ryland Morris Kendrick (1867-1947) Grave in Mt. Hope cemetery

1956 Victor John Chambers (1869-1956) Grave in Mt. Hope Cemetery

1939 "A Never Gloomy Steam Steps Down," Democrat and Chronicle, December 31, 1939, Page 45.

1965 "City Acts to Sell Land to Add to UR Campus," Democrat and Chronicle, January 27, 1965, Page 1B. | Part 2 |

1965 "UR Only Bidder for City Land," Democrat and Chronicle, February 9, 1965, Page 11.
$150,000 for 16.3 acres.

1965 "Students at UR Offer Own Design for Living," Democrat and Chronicle, July 12, 1965, Page 1B.

1965 Deed from the City of Rochester to the University of Rochester, 1965, $150,000, book 3636, page 535.
16.3 acres.

1965 "4.28 Acres Sold to UR by City," Democrat and Chronicle, September 9, 1965, Page 18.
The land extends north from the Erie Railroad trestle along the east side of the boulevard.

1966 "UR to Construct 6 Dormitories at $3.5 Million," Democrat and Chronicle, February 16, 1966, Page 10C.
Six four-story dormitories, to cost $3.5 million, will be built by the University of Rochester on River Boulevard, near the Towers.
The dorms, to house 504 students, are expected to be ready by 1968. Work on the complex will begin in m September.
It will mark phase one of a three-phase expansion of student housing on 16 acres the university has bought from the city. No final decision has been made, but it's likely each dormitory will be limited to one sex, unlike the Towers where men and women occupy different floors

1966 "New Dormitories Assured at UR," Democrat and Chronicle, March 11, 1966, Page 6B.
Construction of six dormitories on the University of Rochester campus was assured yesterday with the approval of a $3.5 million loan for construction costs by the Community Facilities Administration, Washington. Plans for the dormitories were announced in February and called for four for men and two for women, all to be four stories with a total capacity of 504 students.

1966 "More Housing for Students," Rochester Review 28(3):24-25 (Spring 1966)

1966 "Building to Begin in Fall on Six Four-Story Units," Campus Times, April 26, 1966, Page 1.
504-student residence that will ultimately house 900 students.  Scheduled for completion in 1968, with addition sections of the complex to open by 1971.
Second Phase - The second phase of the new dormitory complex is presently in the planning stage.  Tentative plans call for high rise buildings to be located beyond the dorms to be completed in 1968

1966 "A Memorial Service for Professor John Rothwell Slater," University of Rochester Library Bulletin 21(3) (Spring 1966)

1966 "Rush Rhees Expansion Out for Bids; Dorm Construction Starts in January," Campus Times, November 11, 1966, Page 1 | Part 2 |

1968 "Undergraduate Residence Centers Named," Currents, June 5, 1968.
The new residence center will be named David Jayne Hill Court after the University's president from 1889 to 1896.
The names selected for the individual residences are: Victor John Chambers, Herman LeRoy Fairchild, Arthur Sullivan Gale, Asahel Clark Kendrick and Ryland M. Kendrick, Annette Gardner Munro and John Rothwell Slater.

1968 "Strikes Delay Phase 1 Dormitories Construction," Campus Times, October 29, 1968, Page 2.

1969 "Campus Construction Projects Take Shape," Campus Times, September 26, 1969, Page 3.
The bridge connecting Hill court with the rest of the River Campus will be ready October 15, the contractor has sold the University.  According to the men working on the construction site, however, November 1 is a more likely date for its completion.

2007 Chemistry at Rochester: 75th Anniversary of Graduate Education  
Pages 7-8:  Victor J. Chambers, Chair 1908-1938

© 2021 Morris A. Pierce