Sorin Hall, also known as Sorin College, is the oldest of the 32 Residence Halls on the campus of the University of Notre Dame and one of the 17 male dorms. It is named after Fr. Edward Sorin, C.S.C., the founder of Notre Dame. Sorin is located directly north of Walsh Hall and is directly south of the Basilica of the Sacred Heart. Sorin houses 143 undergraduate students. Sorin Hall is, along with other buildings on the Main Quad of Notre Dame, on the National Register of Historic Places. Sorin Hall was the first Notre Dame residential hall established as such, although St. Edward's Hall is housed in an older building.
History
Sorin Hall was the first dormitory built specifically to host students at the University of Notre Dame. Prior to 1888, every college student was housed in the Main Building, with open dormitory areas. During the early mid-1880s, the Holy Cross priests experimented with private rooms for upperclassmen with high academic grades and the results were positive. Since the Main Building was overcrowded with students, Father Edward Sorin decided to build a freestanding dormitory to expand residential space for students and alleviate the housing shortage. It was the first of its kind among all Catholic universities and one of the first among colleges across the country.
It was designed by Willoughby J. Edbrooke, architect of the Main Building, Washington Hall (1881), and the Science Hall (1883 - today's LaFortune Student Center). His design has been described as a mixture of Gothic and Roman for a building that resembles a French château. Groundbreaking took place on March 18, 1887, and the cornerstone was laid by Fr. Sorin on May 27, 1888, the 50th anniversary of his ordination as a priest. Originally intended to be called Collegiate Hall, when the cornerstone was uncovered for the ceremony, Father Sorin discovered that the dormitory was to be named in his honor. Construction progressed throughout the fall of 1888 and the dorm opened its doors on New Year's Day of 1889. The 12 January 1889 issue of the Scholastic reported that "The house is replete with all the modern conveniences; and the rooms, fifty in number, are large enough to encourage study, and at the same time small enough to discourage visiting.” The fifty rooms were all singles. The first student to reserve a room in the hall was Joe Cusack, who played halfback for the inaugural Notre Dame football team and varsity quarterback a year later. He chose a room situated at the southwest corner of the hall. Space for the law department, founded in 1866, was situated on the south side of the first floor; classes had previously been taught in the Main Building. The basement hosted a smoking room and a reading room for the comfort of students. Rev. Andrew Morrissey, C.S.C. (1860-1921) was the dorm's first rector. He would serve as the university's eighth president from 1893 to 1905. The rector's room was situated immediately north of the front door. Professor “Colonel” William Hoynes, chair of the law department and one of the early bachelor dons, was housed to the south of the front door. Two seminarians, who assisted Father Morrissey, also resided in the new building. Sorin Hall's chapel, dedicated to St. Thomas Aquinas, was built on the north side of the building. Fr. James A. Burns, C.S.C. was rector for four years.
The structure as it exists today was renovated in 2021 with the addition of the 4th side to completely enclose the building and create a courtyard. Originally, the dorm did not have its now iconic front porch. In its early years, Sorin housed Notre Dame's law school and the dean of the law department, Prof. William Hoynes, resided in the building. He once happened to be the target of one of the numerous student pranks in the early 1900s who dumped buckets of water on people leaving the building. After the instance, he raised a fuss with university administration, hence a porch was built in April 1905 to avoid any such further instance. Since then, the porch thus became one of the iconic features of the dorm. In the 1920s, Sorin hosted most of the school's football players.
During the Vietnam War, the men who resided in this dorm briefly decided to break away from the University of Notre Dame. Students and professors held classes in the dorm and boycotted University events. They hung a wooden sign above the porch, declaring the dorm "Sorin College." The sign remains to this day and Secession Week, one of Sorin's three signature events, is an ongoing commemoration of this brief rebellion.
In 1988, Sorin Hall celebrated its 100th anniversary as a Notre Dame residence hall.