In 1959, a residence hall known as Dorm A welcomed its first set of residents — all female — to Biola’s brand new La Mirada campus. This spring, that same residence hall, now known as Emerson Hall, will bid farewell to its final set of residents — all male — as it goes into retirement. As it does, it's being remembered for the community it created as Biola’s oldest and longest-running dorm.

In recent years, Emerson Hall has been best known for being Biola’s only all-men’s residence hall and with that, according to current resident director Kevin Cram (’06), residents found a rich bond and tight community.

Alumnus Richie Gowin (’14) was one of those students.

“The short halls, lack of air conditioning, and few rooms made sure everyone grew close together,” said Gowin. “Everyone who lived in Emerson, no matter how long, was an Emersonian. Emerson modeled some of the best dorm community. No one was unknown on the hall. Doors were always open. People had to fight to be unknown.”

When Emerson was built in 1959 as Dorm A at first, it was one of the first buildings on campus and one of two women’s dormitories. Most students were still being bused from the university’s Los Angeles home to La Mirada for classes. The hall later received and kept the name Gamma Chi well into the 1970s, until it was renamed after Wallace Emerson, founder of Biola’s undergraduate psychology program. It was in the 1980s after a stint of being open to women and men that the hall became an all-men’s dorm.

Chad Miller (’00), who works in chapel programs at Biola, lived in Emerson Hall as a student and served as a resident assistant in 1998.

“If I had a brotherhood, it would be the people in Emerson,” said Miller. “The guys who I lived with, we are all still friends, we all have kids, we all regularly meet. One just had a serious bout with cancer and the Emerson community is the one that rallied around him. That comes directly out of all of our life changing experiences, out of the crucial years of college.”

Due to the addition of a new residence hall on upper campus due to open in fall 2015 and a need for faculty offices, Emerson will be repurposed to house the Department of Humanities’ faculty offices.

Renovations for Emerson are scheduled to begin in June 2015 to allow faculty occupancy in Spring 2016. Renovations for the building, which will keep the title Emerson Hall, will begin with a seismic retrofit and a reconfiguration of the interiors. The most significant change will be the addition of a two-story lobby space with an elevator that will provide wheelchair accessibility to the second floor.

“With a growing university comes the need to make decisions that will make a positive impact on the future,” said Cram. “Those who have not been a part of Emerson will remember it for Nationball, gentlemen, not having air conditioning, and the great people they knew who lived there. But those who lived there will remember something special for the rest of their lives.”

A retirement event in honor of Emerson Hall was held on April 16, 2015. Attendees had the opportunity to share stories and walk through the halls visiting with current Emerson residents.

Written by Mystiana Victorino, iBiola intern. For more information, contact Jenna Loumagne, media relations specialist, at (562) 777-4061 or jenna.l.bartlo@biola.edu.