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Gertrude Peabody Residence Hall

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While Triangle Apartments is the oldest structure of the main campus residential halls at Temple University, Gertrude Peabody Residence Hall is the oldest traditionally designed residential hall. In 2006 the building began celebrating its 50th anniversary. The structure was originally designed as a women's residence hall with the campus cafeteria in the basement. The cafeteria is now housed in the Esposito Dining Center in Johnson and Hardwick Halls. The Gertrude Peabody Residence Hall building structure has since undergone many renovations to better serve students including a Study Lounge, Game Room, Fitness Center, Computer Lab, Kitchen, new windows and air conditioning. Many alumni fondly recall their experiences in Gertrude Peabody Residence Hall, known affectionately as "Peabody Pride". Gertrude Peabody Residence Hall is also known to have been built on land that once occupied one of Temple University founder, Dr. Russell Conwell's original homes.

Temple University is a university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Temple University was founded in 1884 by Dr. Russell Conwell and became known as Temple College in 1888. In 1907, the college became a fully accredited university. Temple University is the 28th largest university in the United States, is the sixth largest provider of professional education in the country and is known for its programs in law, education, media, business and health sciences.

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History of Gertrude Peabody Residence Hall

Gertrude Peabody Residence Hall is a four-story, low-rise building, adjacent to Johnson and Hardwick Residence Halls, which houses 294 students and one professional staff member. Started in 1956, this yellow brick building was dedicated on February 3, 1958 but had been in use since the previous year. A government loan of $1,221,000 was obtained to purchase the land and construct the building. On March 26, 1957, there was a fundraiser at the Academy of Music with the Philadelphia Orchestra and the Temple University choir to help pay for the furnishings.

When built, it had its own dining room which accommodated 600 students and was used by both men and women. To contrast with the warmth of the walls and floor in the tan-orange range, the dining furnishings were green and turquoise with a touch of yellow. It had bentwood armchairs. The curtains on the glass wall looking out on to the court were white glass cloth printed with a special design which acted as a light diffuser. The structure was designed by architects Nolen and Swinburne.

When the building was new, the Main Lounge was described as having "Small sofas, lounge chairs and cushioned benches designed to be easy to move, stack and store when the room is cleared for a dance." It was decorated in shades ranging from orange and vermilion to red. The walls and carpets were neutral colors and had walnut screen sub-dividers covered with a hand-woven red fabric.

Gertrude Peabody Residence Hall, sitting on an acre of land, features lounges on each floor and a large television room, recreation room with pool, ping pong and game tables, laundry facilities, and a study room. The floor lounges were divided by walnut screens containing "panels of blue-bronze fabric." Originally, Gertrude Peabody Residence Hall was a women's dorm. In the sixties, it became a men's dorm. Today, it is co-educational. The building was named in honor of former Dean of Students (Women), Ms. Gertrude Peabody, who served on the building's decorating committee.

Paralleling North Broad Street is only the end of the long part of the "L." Gertrude Peabody Residence Hall runs from North Broad Street to Park Avenue (Liacouras Walk) on Norris Street and then extends up Park (Liacouras Walk) for about 137 feet.

The building stands on top of one of the historic sites on campus, Dr. Russell Conwell's original home which was located at 2004 North Park Avenue. The home was destroyed in 1956 to make way for the new residence hall. Dr. Conwell lived there from 1882 until 1892.

Gertrude Peabody Residence Hall History found at the following site: http://www.geocities.com/wrti2/TUfile.html written and researched by Gerry Wilkinson

Professional and Para-professional Staff

Gertrude Peabody Residence Hall is currently staffed by one full time professional Resident Director (RD), one graduate student Residence Coordinator (RC), seven para-professional Resident Assistants (RA), one para-professional Community Building Assistant (CBA), one para-professional student worker, Staff Manager (SM) and approximately 15 front office workers, computer lab monitors and fitness facility monitors.

The Resident Directors (RDs) at Temple University are full-time professional staff members who live and work in the residence halls. They are responsible for the day to day administration of a residential area ranging from 150 to 630 students, depending upon their specific assignment. Resident Directors are involved in the selection, training, and supervision of the Residential Life staff. In addition, their duties include policy development and implementation, advising student groups, and promoting programming efforts.

The Resident Coordinators (RCs) live with students in some of the residence halls. The primary responsibility of the RC is to assist with the programming and advising functions in the hall in which they reside. The RC is usually a graduate student who is trained to assist students and who reports to a full-time professional staff member.

The Resident Assistants (RAs) live with the residents within the residence halls. They are second, third, fourth and occasionally fifth year students selected on the basis of their skills, interests, and abilities which enable them to assist and advise students. Resident Assistants receive pre-service and on-going training designed to further develop their skills and knowledge base. Since RAs have the opportunity to work closely with students over an extended period of time, they are in the unique position of being able to positively influence student growth. RAs work to create a positive environment in three ways: (1) by fostering a sense of community within the residence halls; (2) by providing help and assistance to students; and (3) by working with students and staff to ensure the smooth operation of the residence halls.

Gertrude Peabody Residence Hall is unique in that it is one of only five Residence Halls on campus to have a Community Building Assistant (CBA). The CBA is responsible for the overall programming efforts of the building. They coordinate with the Resident Assistants to complete bulletin boards. Typically the CBA of Peabody is responsible for the annual American Red Cross Blood Drives, the end of the semester Study Breaks and the annual Peabody Prom.

The Staff Manager (SM) of Gertrude Peabody Residence Hall is a student worker who by previous experience has shown ability to lead fellow student workers. This staff person assists the RD in creating the work schedule and alerts the RD of potential issues with three main customer service areas, the front desk, the computer lab and the fitness facility.

Mister and Miss Peabody Honorees

At the conclusion of each academic year the residential body of Gertrude Peabody Residence Hall convene at the Annual Peabody Prom to select candidates for Mister and Miss Peabody. Mister and Miss Peabody are residents who over the course of the year embody the values and traditions of Peabody Hall as set by Miss Gertrude Peabody and those staff and students that have come before. Those selected to be Mister and Miss Peabody work during their sophomore year with current Peabody Resident Assistants to program for the new first year students and also attend the annual Thanksgiving Reunion and return to the Peabody Prom to honor the newly chosen Mister and Miss Peabody.

Traditions of Gertrude Peabody Residence Hall

Each year Resident Assistants are required to complete a number of educational programs within this First Year Experience residential community. Some of the traditional programs that residents of Gertrude Peabody Residence Hall have come to love are:

Resident Traditions

Para-professional RA/CBA Staff Traditions

External links

 

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