Santa Catalina Dorms

Santa Catalina, is a student residence hall located off the main campus at the University of California, Santa Barbara. It is located at 6850 El Colegio Road, Goleta, Santa Barbara County, California. Santa Catalina includes two buildings: North Tower and South Tower. The complex includes a swimming pool, Portola dining commons, a gym and a computer lab.

History

Despite rumors to the contrary, Santa Catalina was not originally a hotel. It was built as a private residence hall and operated as such until 2002 when it was purchased by UCSB. [ [http://www.ia.ucsb.edu/pa/display.aspx?pkey=745 "UC Santa Barbara to Purchase Privately Owned Student-Housing Complex"] , 2002] During the school year it houses approximately 1325 students and is used in the summer by the various sports and training camps that are held on campus.

The buildings were constructed in 1966. One of the towers is 10 stories high, and the other 11 stories. They are among the tallest structures in Santa Barbara County, having been built prior to the county's imposition of height restrictions on new construction.

In May 2006, UCSB was listed as the #2 party school in Playboy Magazine. Playboy.com listed the Francisco Torres dorms under the heading "Sex Legends" citing the dorm's "reputation as a promiscuous, crazy residence hall".fact|date=May 2008

Name change

In January 2008, UCSB changed the name of the residence hall to Santa Catalina, matching the Channel Islands theme of several other residence halls at the school. The name "Francisco Torres" had something of a negative reputation around the campus and surrounding communities; many students had, albeit affectionally, referred to Francisco Torres as "Fuck Towers". Some students protested the name change, but it will remain.

References

External links

* [http://www.ucsb.edu/ UCSB website]
* [http://www.housing.ucsb.edu/ Department of Housing and Residential Services of UCSB website]