Rooms
Cowles Hall has traditional residence hall style housing and a lounge west of the main entrance, with apartment-style housing to the east. Cowles has seven apartments:
- one two-person student adviser apartment
- one four-person apartment
- one five-person apartment
- four six-person apartments
Each apartment has a bathroom, a kitchen and pantry, and a lounge with a tv.
Amenities
Lounges
Cowles Hall has two lounges, one on the first floor and one on the second floor. The first floor lounge has a TV and DVD player.
Kitchens
The Cowles kitchen is located on the second floor. It is equipped with a stove, an oven, a fridge and a microwave.
Storage
Cowles Hall uses the trunk room located in Clark Hall (or within the Clangrala cluster) for storage.
Laundry
Laundry facilities are located in the residence hall next to Cowles, Dibble.
Computer Lab
Residents of Smith can use the computer lab and printing facilities located in Norris Hall.
Recycling
A recycling facility is located on the first floor of Cowles.
Air Conditioning
Cowles offers heating but not air conditioning.
Elevators
The upper floors of Cowles are not accessible by elevator.
History
Cowles Hall is located on North Campus near the Physical Education Complex and Harris Center. It was made possible by a gift from the Cowles Foundation in 1941.
President Samuel Stevens anticipated the need for better facilities during World War II and quickly built Cowles Hall and Darby Gym in 1942 to accommodate the Officers’ Candidate School. It was not available for civilian use until 1945.
With the completion of the Joe Rosenfield ’25 Center and its new dining facilities, Cowles and Quad dining halls were no longer needed. Cowles dining was retrofitted to provide additional housing. The Des Moines architectural firm Herbert Lewis Kruse & Blunk designed the retrofit, and completion of the project was done by Neumann Design Build.
Details
1942