Keenan Hall

Keenan Hall is one of the 32 Residence Halls at University of Notre Dame. It is located on North Quad in front of North Dining hall, between Zahm Hall and Stanford Hall. Keenan Hall shares the building and The Chapel of The Holy Cross with adjacent dorm Stanford. It was built in 1957, funded by James Keenan, a hotel executive and Notre Dame alumnus, and dedicated to the memory of his late son James Keenan Jr. Its mascot is the Knight, and its colors are blue and white. It leads the Notre Dame halls by number of Hall of the Year titles won, and it hosts a number of the most popular events on campus, such as the Keenan Revue and Muddy Sunday, and is known for its interhall football team. History Keenan Hall was built in 1957 and was named after James Keenan, a Notre Dame alumnus from Fort Wayne, in memory of his son James Keenan Jr., who died in 1941 before entering the university. The Keenan family operated a chain of hotels in the Midwest, and Mr. Keenan served on Notre Dame's Lay board of Trustees. Its cost was $1,000,000. Keenan Hall was designed by Ellerbe Becket and built by the M. J. McGough Company. Keenan was part of a 4 million dollar expansion which included Stanford Hall and the North Dining Hall. The hall was dedicated on November 23, 1957, by bishop Loras Thomas Lane of Rockford, Illinois and president Rev. Theodore Hesburgh. It was followed by a luncheon for the Keenan residents sponsored by Hesburgh. Originally, it accommodated 300 students in 150 rooms. The inaugural rector was Rev. Michael Murphy, C.S.C. Keenan and Stanford were built as part of Rev. Hesburgh's vision of hosting all undergraduate students on campus housing. Initially, they accommodated freshmen. When it opened, it also had rooms for the priest-rector and four prefects.