Churchill Hall has been completely redone. The long-standing building was rededicated Friday, Sept. 29, in front of a large crowd of North Dakota State students and alumni.

The alumni were shocked at how drastic the changes to the residence hall are compared to the time when they once lived there. Some alumni in attendance lived there in the 1970s and said they barely recognized the place.

NDSU President Dean Bresciani, Director of Residence Life Rian Nostrum and Student Body President Mason Wenzel gave a brief introduction speech about the building before giving a tour of the inside.

Wenzel was previously a resident of Churchill Hall and said it would always hold a special place in his heart because it was his first home in Fargo.

Originally built in 1930, the residence hall housed 192 students and six resident instructors — an older name for residence assistants. The building originally had no name and was called the Men’s Residence Hall.

A 1939 edition of The Spectrum reported students at the time saying that the building was “well-equipped” and “a real home.”

The building was eventually rededicated in 1957 after Omar O. Churchill, a School of Agriculture staff member from 1904-1950. During his time at North Dakota State, Churchill served as the dean of the School of Agriculture as well as assisting then President Sheppard with the creation of the North Dakota Experiment Union.

Bresciani said that the rededication of this building was probably his favorite new creation this year because it showed that the past can still be remembered while giving NDSU students a new hall to live in.

Nostrum added that the opening showed that NDSU can move into the future while not forgetting the past.

See the Bison Information Network’s video coverage of the event here.