Before the Fourth of July fireworks kick off in Tuscaloosa -- when the University of Alabama will implode the old Tutwiler Hall Monday at 7 a.m. -- we asked AL.com readers to share their memories of the historic dorm.
They dished about blind dates, newfound friendships, bathroom mishaps and more we just had to share before the historic dorm comes down next week.
Built in 1968, Tutwiler Hall is the second incarnation of the girls’ residence hall. The first was built in 1914 and was located on the land where Rose Administration now stands. The building was named for Julia Tutwiler, daughter of the first professor of ancient languages Henry Tutwiler, who in 1892 persuaded the 11th president of the university (Richard Channing Jones) to allow women as students. The first women, Bessie Parker and Anna Adams, were admitted in 1893. Julia Tutwiler was also a successful advocate for prison reform in Alabama, and she wrote the official state song.
The Tutwiler Hall being demolished on July 4 has housed more than 50,000 women since its opening in 1968. The building has 13 floors, although there was no 13th floor. Elevators skipped from floor 12 to floor 14 due to superstition. The building’s most recent bed capacity was 1,000.
The new Tutwiler Hall will open in August.
We asked AL.com readers on Facebook and Instagram to share their memories of the longstanding dorm, and they did not disappoint. Many shared the specific years when they lived in Tutwiler as UA undergraduates, including historical events that occurred during their stay. Some bid it a fond farewell, while others said good riddance. Mostly, they had some fun.
From chaotic fire drills to cheer champs to nervous blind dates to, well...why don’t we let them use their own words?
What are your memories of Tutwiler Hall? Read what you said below:
“The end of an era. Loved that place!” (Kristian Collins)
“Best memories meeting some of the best friends of a lifetime! You cannot recreate the vibe of being all girls in your first year of college just a short walk away from Bryant Denny Stadium on game day! Luckily, I was on the second floor so no elevator issues.” (sarahellismckay)
“Too many to say! Some I cannot say!😂” (hmwhite442)
“Should probably consult my attorney before sharing memories from this building.” (Jim Taylor)
“I can’t put them to paper in a public forum.” (shererd205)
“Sneaking my friend’s boyfriend in for a football weekend.” (Kat Magnooson)
“My entire floor getting mono. What a time to be alive.” (isabelle_r_speed)
“Not ‘fond,’ but memorable. Walking up/down all the flights of stairs during fire drills to the 14th floor (really 13th) where my room was.” (Tiya Williams Mitchell)
“Our class was the first to live there. We got to pick our rooms from the blueprints. Chose 2nd floor due to fire drills. Was living there when Martin Luther King was assassinated. Had to wear dresses/skirts even downstairs! Lots of raincoats for all of us! When it was time to move, we threw most possessions out the window and packed from the ground!” (Jane Dailey)
“I lived on the 12th floor, west side. Facing west, we got one tv station, CBS. MASH and Donnie and Marie were my go to shows. Some nights we had 3-4 fire drills, down the 12 flights and back up again, until we finally hid in our rooms to avoid that torture.” (smithmkc)
“People pulling the fire alarm during the night and having to use the steps to go down and back up. One night, I went rogue and ran and hopped on the elevator. The girl at the desk yelled at me to stop, but I was not up to hiking up to the 11th floor that night.” (nankum01)
“Cheerleading camps were always fun in the dorm!! School was MGM High School Semmes Al one that stayed in dorm !! Great memories!” (Faye Terry Hurst)
“It being the brand spanking new, modern, sought after dorm my Sophomore year in college.” (Jane McCoy Reding)
“The ‘please don’t poop in the shower’ signs!” (pkfarrell87)
“Many hours spent watching TV and making out in the TV room in 1969. Hanging out on Saturday night with my home town honey on the front porch until the door was locked. Eating in the dining room surrounded by beautiful women including Miss Alabama/ America.” (Phillip Parrish)
“My memory of it is going to see a friend who lived there, seeing the teeny tiny rooms and thinking ‘how do people live like this?’” (Kelley Smith)
“My daughter’s room wasn’t much bigger than my laundry room and she had a roommate.” (Jackie Milton)
“Tradition and the odd coincidences. I was a freshman living in Tutwiler in 1973. 30 years later I picked up my high school age daughters from Tutwiler, where they were staying during UCA cheer camp. Then in 2010, I returned to help my younger daughter move into her room in Tutwiler. If someone had told freshman me that 30 years later, I would be picking up two teenage children from my freshman dorm and that their father was someone I had met at the University of Alabama, I would’ve thought that was a preposterous story. By the way, after my first date with my future husband, I was waving goodbye to him, turned suddenly and hit my head on one of the Tutwiler columns. I was so embarrassed. Obviously Tutwiler has figured prominently in my life. And I have the pictures. I’m sad to see her go.” (cheryl_leigh7777)
“I stayed in the dormitory for my freshman year until I moved into the honors dorm….goodbye and good riddance.” (Mitria Spotser)
“Goodbye, it was a pleasure…freshman orientation summer 1976!” (Kathy Sumbry-Wilkins)
“I lived there. 1112…my now husband was waiting for me the afternoon of squeal [Bid Day] ( I wasn’t expecting him) and we have been together ever since!” (Kate Goldman Gholston)
“Making way for the future but it’s still a little sad to see them go.” (Alice Wright)
“Yes it is the end of an era. We had some good times!” (Vicki Pritchett Evans)
“I spent the night there with my date after a football game.” (chrisjkunze)
“Move in day for my freshman daughter. Very long lines for very few elevators so I decided to take the stairs to the 12th floor. I had serious doubts around floor 5 but I made it completely out of breath.” (haleydl)
“My freshman year was 1970 and I was assigned to Tutwiler. My roommate and I shared a room on the front of the building. It was a great vantage point for if you had a blind date you could ask him what car he drove and when he pulled up, you could check him out to make sure you wanted to go out or ‘get sick.’ In the lobby there was a bank of phones for the guys to call you for they weren’t allowed to get on the elevators to go upstairs unless it was moving day. The dorm that year was over capacity with some women being assigned rooms that were converted study spaces at the ends of each hall. The bathrooms were communal bathrooms, no sinks in the rooms. My roommate and I used an electric popcorn popper to warm soups or hot water in the room. Smoking cigarettes was also allowed throughout the building. The dorm elected me as its representative to tryout for Crimson Girl, which I was selected as one of 16 women from across campus to serve as the official hosts for the University. The group is now known as the Capstone Men and Women. Farewell Tutwiler, it’s time for you to GO!” (marsha_bamboo)
(More stories below the photo)
“Having to move my car to a different location for home football games so RVs could park there or having to move it when it rained so it didn’t get flooded.” (leelee4uu)
“sleeping through a fire alarm 🤣🤣.” (ashleykrin)
“UCA Camp 1990 & 1991....1991 the whole team went down with the stomach virus, negative to #communalbathrooms but I was spared!” (hollymc74)
“My mom lived in Tutwiler in 1967 and I followed in 1989. I was on the front of the 3rd floor. I loved being able to look out the front and see the comings and goings of all the girls. #memories.” (mybaldwinagent)
“I stayed in Tutwiler 2 nights or freshman orientation in the summer of 1975. I then decided to enroll in Auburn and graduated in 1979. 😂” (dlofgren)
“My daughters and I have our ‘I survived Tut’ T-shirts ready for July 4.” (cheryl_leigh7777)
“Playing Twister on my floor during an ice storm in the mid ‘90s.” (deanettadg)
“Too many to count! Blimpie’s subs, walk of shame victims, bad showers, heat waves, getting ready at 11 pm, etc.” (lanewilkins33)
“Eating in the cafeteria because the food in the men’s dorm was garbage.” (gary.merritt.5)
“It was 3 years old when, as a freshman, I walked by it every day on my way to class. But I probably did not go in it more than twice. My memories are more from the outside. This modern bastion of coeds. And the pretty maids all in a row who came & went from it.” (outonalemb)
“Gymnastics camp 1992!” (jenny_d_powell)
“I remember watching this being built... it took away my favorite place to park my car for the day to go to sorority and classes.” (Amy Edge)
“Had to stay there for my freshman orientation 1979. Made me appreciate being allowed to live in an off-campus apartment. But I hope it provided lots of happy memories for many students over the years.” (kathyroosdenes)
“Tuscaloosa tornado 2011, crammed on the first floor.” (mkbyrom)
“We went to summer cheerleading camp and all squads were assigned to a top floor so the staffers could make us run up and down to whatever event was next! including meals! This was 75-77.” (janicegigirogers)
“Lots of great memories, but it was new when I lived there!” (Nancy Watson Thomas)
“Room 1105 forever.” (Heidi Abbott DiLorenzo)
“It was brand new when I was there. We all had to go there for meals.” (Melani Payne)
“1999/2000 ohhhhhhh the memories.” (Blakely Sullivan Herndon)
“Lived on 9th floor in 1969 and 1970.” (Orpah Stewart Travis)
“stayed here every year for cheer camp.” (Moni Fisher)
“I lived here my freshman year. 1975.” (Denise Rutland)
“Lived on the 6th floor in 1997-1998.” (Lauren Edwards Bryant)
“I lived on the ‘14th’...13th floor overlooking the cemetery! My sister lived there when she attended Alabama in the late 60s and there was a 9 pm curfew.” (Beth Pebbles Billy)
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