Barracks

After World War II, when many returning veterans headed to college on the GI bill®, St. John's didn't have enough dormitory space to accommodate them all.  Up until that time, most students lived in Benet Hall. 

According to The Record, the Federal Public Housing Association allotted five army barracks to SJU, which were sent to Collegeville from Camp Grant, Illinois in 1946.  Each of the five 100x20 foot barracks housed 80 students.  The barracks were placed in what was at the time a practice field for Prep athletics, north of the outdoor handball courts.  Later the handball courts were demolished to make room for Mary Hall. 

Barracks (left to right): 1948; 1949; 1950 (click thumbnails for larger images)

With Mary Hall under construction to house students by fall 1951, the barracks were moved and put to other uses.  Some were sold (in sections) and removed from campus altogether, to places like Avon and Big Fish Lake.  Others stayed on campus, and were used to form parts of buildings used by the Liturgical Press and Custodial Services, as shown below in this 1966 aerial photo: 

(see also a 1966 view from the south)

Having undergone significant renovations over the years, their initial use as barracks was almost totally obscured over time.

The barracks next to the Liturgical Press were initially used by the Press, but were gradually put to other purposes.  They were razed on June 18, 2018, after serving as space for the Abbey's artisans and Abbey Woodworking's laser studio and storage space.

GI Bill® is a registered trademark of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). More information about education benefits offered by VA is available at the official U.S. government Web site at https://www.benefits.va.gov/gibill.

Bibliography:

• "Army Barracks to Accommodate 80 Fall Students," The Record, June 20, 1946, p. 1.
• "St. Thomas Hall, new center for day students" [i.e. one of the re-purposed barracks] The Record, Nov. 6, 1947, p. 2. 
• Tegeder, Vincent. "Master Plans," Scriptorium, v. 26, 1988, p. 1-22. A chronological examination of the building projects at St. John's between the end of World War I and the creation of Marcel Breuer's Master Plan in the 1950s. See. p. 16-17. 
• McKeown, Tom. "Conditions of Aging Barracks Shows Need for Residence Hall," The Record, February 9, 1950, p. 2.
• 1957 Sagatagan Yearbook (photo), p. 247
• Schroeder, Michael, "Longtime resident remembers Joe Hall," The Record, 21 November, 1990, p.7. [Includes photo showing some of the barracks. It is mistakenly identified as dating to the early, rather than the late, 1940's.]
• Vanderhorck Letter from the St. John's Alumni Magazine, Winter 1995, vol. 35, no. 1, p. 17
• Avon House - 2006 renovation photos of a house that was once one of the barracks
• Big Fish Lake Cabin - also once one of the barracks at SJU
• Liturgical Press, Collegeville: A Brief History [2015]
• World War II-Era Barracks at St. John's [2018]