| Previous residence hall | All residence halls |
Constructed: 1910-11
Architect: H. H. Waterman, Chicago
Named for: Norman H. Brokaw, paper mill manager, inventor, Lawrence trustee
Toward the end of the first decade of the twentieth century, a brochure was circulated asking for donations for "A Boy's Dormitory" at Lawrence. "We need a dormitory to bring the boys together, and give them the educative benefit of close contact with their fellows" was one of six reasons given for "why we need a dormitory." Several trustees, including Kate Brokaw, Norman's widow, donated to the cause.
As Marguerite Schumann relates in Creation of a Campus, "The rooms averaged 11 by 22 feet, their stout mission oak furniture was calculated to stand up against the most uninhibited rough-housing, and each room was guaranteed to be furnished at a cost of 'not less than $100'." (p. 55)
In June, 1925, firecrackers tossed into a laundry chute caused a fire that injured five students and resulted in $25,000 in damage. 50 students were made homeless by the fire which burned out the entire third and fourth floors of the north wing.
One of the most colorful periods in Brokaw's history was during World War II, when it was officially known as the "good ship Brokaw" and housed 150 sailors and the V-12 administrative offices. Pillars were painted battleship grey, sailors swabbed the deck daily, and for two years they "went ashore" onto the campus to attend classes. Many came back to Lawrence as civilians to finish their college work.
College administration offices moved into Brokaw when Carnegie Library was torn down in 1973. The dining room on the ground floor of Brokaw was in use until Jason Downer Commons opened in 1968.