Watterson Towers

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Watterson Towers

Watterson Towers is a student residence hall at Illinois State University, in Normal, Illinois. Located at the corner of Beaufort Street and Fell Avenue, it was completed in 1967. The 28-story complex holds over 2,200 students and stands at 91m (298.5 ft). Watterson Towers was named after Arthur W. Watterson, a popular Professor of Geography from 1946-1966. He joined the geography faculty in 1946 and was chosen to head the department in 1951.

Watterson is composed of 10 houses, each considered its own residence hall. The houses are named after the first ten men to hold the office of U.S. Secretary Of State. The entire building is divided into two towers. Each tower is divided into five houses. Each house is divided into 5 floors. Each floor divided into 4 suites; except on the 3rd floor which is divided into 2 suites for elevator access. In the North Tower, the houses, from bottom to top, are Jefferson House, Randolph House, Pickering House, Marshall House and Madison House. In the South Tower, bottom to top, the houses are Smith House, Monroe House, Adams House, Clay House, and Van Buren House. The houses are located across from each other, joined by a breezeway only on the 3rd floor of the houses.

Campus View, top of Watterson Towers

The building's unique design prevents it from having full elevator service. Of the 8 elevators that operate in the building, there is a maximum of 9 stops, 8 of which students have access to: Maintenance Level (prohibited to students), Service Level, Formal (Lobby) Level, Smith-Jefferson Breezeway, Monroe-Randolph Breezeway, Adams-Pickering Breezeway, Marshall-Clay Breezeway, Madison-Van Buren Breezeway and the Informal Level. Each breezeway level is the 3rd floor of each house. A resident who lived on Clay 4 would stop at the Marshall-Clay Breezeway and then need to walk up one flight of stairs to reach his room.