Women's Residence Halls / Lincoln Avenue Residence Halls

Originally known simply as the Women's Residence Halls, [1] construction of the Lincoln Avenue Residence Halls began on December 31, 1946 and the facility was completed in September of 1949. [2] It was designed by Shaw, Naess, and Murphy, in conjunction with University Architect Ernest Stouffer, and built by the Warner Construction Company. [3] A State appropriation of $2,506,500 was made towards the project, part of "the first postwar appropriation of the State for the University", and an $800,000 loan finished out the financing. [4] The total facility ended up costing $3,306,500. [5]

The building's two wings were designed to hold 548 women students and feature central set of "dining rooms, kitchen, recreational and lounge facilities", as well as a spacious central lounge. Each wing also contained an apartment for its Head Resident. [6]

When the Hall was constructed, it was intended that a second Hall would be designed immediately west of it within short order and would share its kitchen facilities. [7]

On Sunday, September 30, 1984, [8] the halls were rededicated in honor of Deans Miriam A. Shelden and Maria Leonard. Miriam Shelden served as the Dean of Women from 1947 onward and as the Dean of Student Personnel from 1973 to her death in 1975, where she worked for equal opportunities for achievement for women, minorities, and other disenfranchised groups on campus. Maria Leonard served as the Dean of Women from 1923 to 1945 and founded the freshman scholarship honorary Alpha Lambda Delta. She is remembered for presiding over a time in the University's history when women found it more acceptable to attend college and were doing so in greater numbers, requiring an increasing emphasis on women's needs in the University environment. [9]

Sometime between 2000 and 2003, Lincoln Avenue Residence Halls welcomed Chef Jean Louis as their new head chef. Chef Louis formerly operated a widely regarded French restaurant in downtown Urbana. [10]