Atlantic House and Pacific House
Site: Across College Road from the Robins Center (Pacific House is closer to College Road)
Completed: Atlantic House: 1930; Pacific House: dedicated October 26, 1928
Size: Atlantic House: 3,702 square feet; Pacific House: 4,000 square feet
Renovation: Atlantic House: 1993; Pacific House: 1990
In 1928, the University set aside four lots (A, B, C, and D) on the northern side of campus across from where the Robins Center stands now. These lots were designated sites for fraternity houses. Richmond agreed to create roads and provide water connections. The fraternities agreed to pay $1,500 in order to build on the lots.
On Lot A (No. 1 Fraternity Row) was Phi Kappa Sigma’s house, dedicated on October 26, 1928, now known as Pacific House. On Lot B (No. 2 Fraternity Row) was Kappa Sigma’s house, built in 1930, now known as Atlantic House. Two other fraternities, Kappa Alpha and Lamba Chi Alpha, contracted with the University to build houses on Lots C and D respectively, but they were never constructed.
In November 1928, The Collegian reported that President Boatwright considered “the acquisition of these lots…a distinct forward step in the campus life, indicating the progress of the University. When houses are built on these lots, and these various groups are enabled to release the rooms they now have in the dormitories, it will afford space for a larger student body, and this will give the administrative officers the necessary arguments they wish for further expansion of the University into other fields of educational endeavor.”
Due to a lack of housing space in Westhampton College, during the 1945-1946 academic year, women lived in the two fraternity buildings, and a bus transported them to Westhampton College for meals in the North Court dining room. In the 1950s, Richmond set up the lodge system in which fraternities constructed lodge buildings but did not provide housing for members. Phi Kappa Sigma and Kappa Sigma sold their houses to the university.
The University subsequently began using the two buildings as part of its regular housing system, renaming them Atlantic House and Pacific House. They were used for international housing until Keller Hall was designated Global House in 2003.
Sources:
Alley, Reuben E. History of the University of Richmond, 1830-1971
Rosenbaum, Claire Millhiser. A Gem of a College: The History of Westhampton College, 1914-1989
The Collegian, 28 Sep. 1928; 2 Nov. 1928
The Web 1940, 1941, 1947, 1950
University website