New Tutwiler Residence Hall set to open in fall 2022 at the University of Alabama
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A brand new, $144M residence hall is under construction on The University of Alabama’s campus. The state-of-the-art Julia Tutwiler Hall is set to open in August 2022. Keep reading for more.
Newest building on the block
The new Julia Tutwiler Hall has been under construction sine June 2019. It’s replacing the old Tutwiler Hall on Paul Bryant Boulevard. University of Alabama students have known Tutwiler as the oldest and tallest dorm on campus for years. Commonly known as “Tut,” the brown skyscraper is an all-girls dorm. The old Tut looks out of place next to the Southern revival buildings on sorority row. It’s housing girls for the last time this school year. The old Tuwiler is scheduled to be demolished in the summer of 2022.
The new Tutwiler Hall blends in perfectly with UA’s red brick style. It will house over 1,200 freshman girls next school year with two-person rooms and private bathrooms in each room. The old Tut had community bathrooms. Talk about an upgrade!
Each level of the new Tut also includes community spaces and study rooms, which are essential in the freshman year experience. The building, which is on the opposite side of campus from the university’s recreation center, also has on-site fitness facilities. Finally, Julia’s Market, a beloved quick stop for on-campus food, will reopen in a new space at Tut. The new Tutwiler Hall is on the northeast corner of 10th Avenue and 12th Street.
Tutwiler Hall is an ambitious but much-needed construction project. It will cost at total of $144.9M, with $110M coming from UA’s general revenue bonds. Without a doubt, the project is an investment in the university’s future. It ensures that thousands of more girls will have the unique Tut experience.
Here’s one first-hand experience from a Tutwiler resident:
“As a 13th floor resident for 4 years, I saw a lot of the ins and outs of Tutwiler. The floor was numbered as 14 but it was really 13. Some of my most poignant memories are of the fire alarm going off at 2am on way too many occasions. Trudging down 13 flights of stairs in your PJs to wait outside in the cold was not a good time. Luckily, I was a math tutor, so I got upgraded to a long end unit without a roommate. This gave a tiny bit of civility to the experience.”
-Cindy Martin, Tutwiler resident 1980-1984
Julia Tutwiler Hall’s Namesake
The new dormitory will be the third residence hall over a hundred-year period bearing Julia Tutwiler as a namesake. Tutwiler was a champion for education in Alabama. In addition, she was cousins to Edward Tutwiler, who was an early steel manufacturer in Birmingham and the builder of the original Tutwiler Hotel. After that building was demolished in 1974, the Tutwiler Hotel name transferred over to the former Ridgley Apartments—which is now the Tutwiler Hotel we know today. The Tutwiler name adorns two iconic buildings in central Alabama.
Were you a resident of the old Tutwiler Hall? Tag @thebamabuzz and share some memories!
