Litchfield Towers

Litchfield Towers, commonly referred to on campus as "Towers," is a complex of dormitories at the University of Pittsburgh's main campus in the Oakland neighborhood of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Litchfield Towers is both the largest and tallest dormitory at the University of Pittsburgh, housing approximately 1,850 students. [http://www.umc.pitt.edu/tour/tour-015.html University of Pittsburgh On-line Tour] ]

Designed by the architectural firm of Deeter & Ritchey, [cite web
title = CMU ARCHNEW2 Database: Browse Record: Tower Dormitories
publisher = Carnegie Mellon University
url = http://ryan.library.cmu.edu/fmi/xsl/AA/browserecord.xsl?-lay=Layout+%231&-recid=6194&-find=-find
accessdate = 2008-07-01] the complex was built in 1963 and was named for former chancellor Edward Litchfield following his untimely death in an airplane crash in 1968. The complex consists of three towers, which during construction were designated A, B, and C in the architectural plans. The names stuck after the towers were completed, and the towers are still so named today. Alluding to the naming convention, and reflecting the shape of the canister packaging of the coinciding to the commercial cleansing products, from their inception the Towers have been nicknamed by students as Ajax, Bab-O (in more recent years called Bounty), and Comet. [ [http://digital.library.pitt.edu/cgi-bin/t/text/pageviewer-idx?c=pittyearbooks;cc=pittyearbooks;rgn=full%20text;idno=1963e49702;didno=1963e49702;view=image;seq=30;node=1963e49702%3A4;page=root;size=s;frm=frameset; Owl Yearbooks (1907-1980) ] ]

Towers A and B house freshmen exclusively, but Tower C is open to students of all years. The towers are all of different heights, and differ slightly in their living accommodations. Tower B is the tallest of the three, at 22 stories. [ [http://www.skyscraperpage.com/cities/?buildingID=7410 Litchfield Towers, www.skyscraperpage.com] ] Tower A is 19 stories tall, and Tower C is 16 stories in height. Rooms in Towers A and B are the same size, roughly 17 ft (5.2 m) by 11 ft (3.4 m). [ [http://www.pc.pitt.edu/housing/halls/towera.html University of Pittsburgh Housing Services Website, Litchfield Tower A] ] These measurements are not exact, however, because the three towers are cylindrical in shape (although actually twenty-sided) and the rooms themselves are therefore somewhat trapezoidal.

Towers A and B

Towers A and B are very similar to each other. All rooms in both towers are doubles, meaning that two people share each room. There is a lounge the size of three dorm rooms every third floor, containing a large television and several couches and tables for studying. Communal and university-sponsored events frequently take place in the various lounges throughout the towers. Every floor shares a communal bathroom, with several shower and restroom stalls. Each floor has twenty rooms, except for the lounge floors, which only have seventeen. Each floor's resident assistant lives alone in their respective room, meaning each floor houses 39 people. On the ground floor of Tower A there is a small fitness center containing treadmills, ellipticals, bikes, and weight equipment. A fully-functioning post office and all student mailboxes are located on the ground floor of Tower B. Due to their freshman population, both Towers A and B are designated as alcohol-free. [University of Pittsburgh 2006-2007 Residential Handbook, pg. 46] However, this rule is "de facto" not enforced, and alcohol is widely, though not openly, available throughout Towers A and B. Its distribution, sale, and consumption, if done discreetly, is generally ignored by most local authorities, though punished if discovered.

There are several specialized student communities in Litchfield Towers which are set aside by the university. Students Pursuing Academics and Careers in Engineering, commonly referred to as the "SPACE" floors, is located on floors 8 through 11 of Tower A.University of Pittsburgh 2006-2007 Residential Handbook, pg. 25] The University Honors College Living Learning Community was housed on floors 11 and 12 of Tower B prior to 2005, and then on floors 11 through 14 after 2005, and the University of Pittsburgh College of Business Administration Living Learning Community is located on floors 9 and 10 of Tower B. Tension between the Business Living Learning Community and that of the University Honors College is common, and has lasted for several years. After the 2006-2007 school year, The University Honors College Living Learning Community was moved to Forbes Hall, [University Of Pittsburgh Honors College Website, Honors Housing. [http://www.honorscollege.pitt.edu/housing/index.html] . Accessed May 25, 2007.] and the College of Business Administration Living Learning Community was moved to Sutherland Hall. [Living Learning Community, College of Business Administration. [http://www.cba.pitt.edu/LLC/index.html] . Accessed May 25, 2007.] "Quiet" floors, which have extra rules promoting a quieter atmosphere, are located on floors 2 and 21 of Tower B.University of Pittsburgh 2006-2007 Residential Handbook, pg. 40]

Tower C

Tower C is very different from Towers A and B. In addition to the fact that Tower C is open to students of any year, [http://www.pc.pitt.edu/housing/halls/towerc.html University of Pittsburgh Housing Services Website, Litchfield Tower C] ] the rooms in Tower C are designated as "singles," meaning that each room houses only one person. The rooms are 2/3 the size of rooms in Towers A and B, and like Tower A and Tower B, every third floor has a lounge containing a television, couches, and tables for extra study. In addition, each floor has 30 rooms, except floors containing a lounge, which have 27. No official specialized student communities are housed in Tower C, but floors 2 and 16 are designated as 24 hour quiet living floors for the 2008-2009 academic school year.

tudent services

As the largest dormitory on the University of Pittsburgh's campus, Litchfield Towers is home to several student services in order to accommodate its large population.

Panther Central

Panther Central is the center for most basic student services. Some of these services include issuing of student ID cards, replacement of lost ID cards, dispensing of general information, placing maintenance requests for rooms, and other such services. [University of Pittsburgh 2006-2007 Resident Handbook, pg. 36] The most common request at Panther Central is verification of residential status, used by students who have left their ID cards in their rooms and require status verification to reenter their dormitory.

Dining services

Until the 2007 academic year, the ground floor of the Litchfield towers complex housed two University dining facilities, both run by the French food service conglomerate Sodexho. "The Marketplace" (formerly known as C-Side) was an all-you-can-eat buffet serving traditional foods such as pastas and salad.University of Pittsburgh 2006-2007 Residential Handbook, pg. 11] The menu changed throughout the day, starting with breakfast foods such as waffles and cereal and ending with dinner dishes such as lasagna.

"Eddie's" was structured more like a food court, with several stand-alone food shops serving such foods as sandwiches, chicken, and hamburgers. Eddie's also contained a small grocery store mainly selling snack foods and pre-packaged dinners. The grocery store offered a small selection of kosher foods. The small shop in the lobby of Towers, "Common Grounds," which sells coffee, juice, bagels, and various other baked goods still remains.

For the fall of 2007, the Litchfield Tower dining facilities were completely remodeled. The newly renovated dining hall has been named "Market Central," and contains six new all-you-can-eat venues, along with a Taco Bell and two takeout areas ("Market to Go" and "Quick Zone"). Often referred to as "Emcee" by campus residents, Market Central's venues offer a great deal of variety. The Flying Star Diner, for example, offers around-the-clock breakfast while Magellan's serves up food from around the world such as eggrolls and other ethnic specialties. Upon entering, students present their campus IDs to gain access to all six venues for their entire duration in the facility. Meal passes or dining dollars can be used for admittance.

Operation hours for Market Central have been extended to remain open from 7:00 AM to 2:00 AM during the week and from 9:00 AM until midnight on the weekends. [ [http://www.pc.pitt.edu/dining/locations/marketcentral.html Market Central ] ]

ecurity

Although Panther Central, the Towers Lobby which connects all three towers, and the dining services located on the ground floor are accessible to everyone, only residents are allowed in the individual towers and must present their student ID card to a 24-hour security guard to gain entrance.University of Pittsburgh 2006-2007 Residential Handbook, pgs. 49-51] [University of Pittsburgh 2006-2007 Residential Handbook, pg. 4] Visitors to any of the Towers must be signed in by a resident of the Tower, and must present either their student ID card if they are a student or a valid form of photographic identification if they are not. On weekdays, which the University defines as Sunday through Thursday, guests signed in by residents must be signed out and leave the Tower by 2:00 AM. If not, an overnight stay request must be completed, of which a student can only file a certain number each academic semester. There is no such rule on weekends. No resident is permitted to sign in more than five people at one time.

During the designated moving-in/moving-out periods at the beginning and end of semesters, the elevators in all three Towers can access the basement garage, allowing students and visitors the ability to travel freely between Towers.

Notes