Gregory Drive Residence Halls

Together with the Peabody Drive Residence Halls, the Gregory Drive Residence Halls form the "6 Pac", an undergraduate residence complex anchoring the south-west of campus. Opened in the fall of 1958, the complex was designed to hold 1,500 male students, bringing the University's total residence hall capacity to 2,294 men and 1,700 women. [1]

Approval for the construction of the complex was given on January 28, 1956 and the initial design studies were conducted by University Architecture Professor Ambrose M. Richardson, with final design by Berger-Kelley and Associates of Champaign. The complex was to be built on the former Parade Ground [2] for a cost of $1,020,000. [3]

In 1957, the Housing Division submitted a request to the Board of Trustees to name two of the buildings (Additions 3 and 4) for "the late Mr. Carl Stephens and Mr. William L. Pillsbury", though this was never adopted. [4]

Three buildings make up the Gregory units: Forbes Hall, Garner Hall, and Hopkins Hall. Forbes Hall is named after Stephen Forbes, who served as the Director of the State Laboratory of Natural History from 1887 to 1917 and also was the University Zoologist for a time. James Garner headed the Department of Political Science from 1904 to 1938, while Cyril Hopkins helped lead the Agriculture Experiment Station in the early 1900's. [5]

By 1961 the Fourth Street Halls were women's dormitories and the women ate at the Gregory and Peabody Drive dining halls on weekends, when their own dining halls were closed. "Language tables" were also set up on Mondays through Thursdays, with tables dedicated for conversation in a particular language, such as Spanish or French. [6]

Some noted alumni have lived in the Gregory Drive complex. From 1966 to 1968, astronaut Dale Gardner lived in 110 Garner Hall. He was a member of the crew of the 1983 Challenger and the 1984 Discovery missions. Mannie Jackson lived in 276 Garner Hall from 1958 to 1960. He led the UI basketball team as its first African-American captain, was the Grand Marshal of the 1993 Homecoming Parade, and was owner of the Harlem Globetrotters, for whom he once played. The Reverend Jesse Jackson lived in 440 Garner Hall from 1959-1960, while Steven Nagel (commander of the April 1991 Atlantis shuttle flight) lived in 474 Forbes from 1964-1965. [7]