Photo Slideshow: 100 Years of Student Housing (courtesy of UW-Madison Libraries' Archives)
Residence Hall Histories
History of University Housing
University of Wisconsin Housing Chronology
| 1851 | North Hall opens |
| 1855 | South Hall opens |
| 1863 | University women take up residence in South Hall |
| 1867-68 | Female College established |
| 1871 | Female College Building opens |
| Men reoccupy South Hall | |
| 1874 | Female College Building renamed Ladies' Hall |
| 1885 | Men's dormitories in North and South Halls closed |
| 1901 | Ladies' Hall renamed Chadbourne Hall |
| 1904 | Van Hise inaugural address |
| 1908 | Architectural Commission campus plan completed |
| 1910 | Lathrop Hall opens |
| 1913 | Barnard Hall opens |
| 1924 | Department of Halls and Commons renamed Department of Dormitories and Commons |
| Donald Halverson appointed Director of Dormitories and Commons | |
| Dormitory Committee appointed | |
| 1926 | Van Hise units (including Tripp and Adams Halls) open |
| House Fellow System put into effect | |
| 1927 | Experimental College occupies Adams Hall |
| 1929 | Report on University City submitted to regents |
| 1938 | A, B, and C of Kronshage units open |
| 1939 | Remaining five dormitories and dining facilities of Kronshage units open |
| 1940 | Elizabeth Waters Hall opens |
| Department of Dormitories and Commons renamed Division of Residence Halls | |
| 1945 | Lee Burns appointed Director of Division of Residence Halls |
| Camp Randall trailer camp opens | |
| 1946 | Truax Field facility opens |
| Badger Ordnance Works facility opens | |
| 1947 | University Houses open |
| Slichter Hall opens | |
| 1954 | Newell Smith appointed Director of Division of Residence Halls |
| 1955 | Zoe Bayliss and Schreiner houses open |
| 1957 | Eagle Heights apartments open |
| 1958 | Holt units on Elm Drive open (Cole, Sullivan Halls) |
| 1959 | Second set of Elm Drive units opens (Friedrick Center, Bradley Hall) |
| New Chadbourne Hall opens | |
| 1960 | Ten Year Housing Plan prepared |
| 1961 | Susan B. Davis House opens |
| 1963 | Rust House opens |
| Sellery Hall, first building of Southeast Dormitory Area, opens | |
| 1964 | Witte Hall opens |
| 1965 | Ogg Hall (at 716 W. Dayton Street) and Gordon Commons open |
| 1986 | Merit House opens |
| 2006 | Smith Hall opens |
| 2007 | A new residence hall opens (at 835 W. Dayton Street); Ogg Hall name is transferred to the new building and the old building is removed |
| 2011 | Friedrick Hall renamed Phillips Hall |
| 2012 | Dejope Hall and Gordon Dining & Event Center open; old Gordon Commons is removed |