History
Nestled between Trinity and Santa Lucia Halls, the former Housing Administration Office, Building #29, was built in 1941 and was previously known as "The Hillcrest Cottage." Student Academic Services, Building #81, just down the hill from the "Cottage" was "The Hillcrest Lounge." It was the lounge area and at one time the cafeteria for the Hillcrest Dorm that once stood where the South Mountain halls are located today.
In 1939, architect Richard J. Neutra became the western regional architectural consultant for the National Youth Administration (NYA), a New Deal program designed specifically to address the problem of unemployment among Depression-era youth. The NYA project built structures in Sacramento as well as in San Luis Obispo. The project added dormitories, an infirmary and a dining hall to the Cal Poly campus, where 116 to 240 male students were housed while they learned welding, aircraft sheet metal, and machine shop skills. According to research done prior to demolition of the Hillcrest Cottage, the only remaining Neutra building on campus today is Building #81, the current location of Student Academic Services.
Through the years there have been many occupants of the Hillcrest Cottage, but the first and perhaps most famous was Jackie Robinson (1941) who at that time was assistant athletic director of the National Youth Administration Camp in Atascadero, California. The NYA program was later dissolved with the advent of the war, and Jackie Robinson went on to become the first African-American Major League Baseball player in 1947. In 1984, Robinson was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by Ronald Reagan, and on March 2, 2005, Robinson's widow, Rachel, accepted the Congressional Gold Medal in honor of Robinson's achievements both on and off the baseball diamond.
Cal Poly served as a naval aviation training center during World War II. Cal Poly's contract with the Navy ran from 1942 to 1946. Records pertaining to this period include the Records of the Office of the President, Julian A. McPhee (1933-1966) and the Mustang Round Up (1942-1946), a monthly campus publication which featured battalion news and photographs, announcements of appointments and program changes, social and recreational activities for the recruits, etc. The University Archives photograph collection and Annual Reports of the President also provide ample information on this period. Many of the men who trained at Cal Poly through the Naval aviation programs returned after the war to study at Cal Poly under the G.I. Bill. Campus newspapers, yearbooks, and alumni records often have information on these individuals.
Former Housing Director Robert Bostrom came to Cal Poly as a freshman majoring in Animal Husbandry. He later became the Director of Housing and lived in Hillcrest Cottage from March 1, 1960 until June 15, 1968. For the first four years Bob lived in the cottage as a bachelor. He then married Ruth, who was working as an advisor in Student Activities. During the next four years they started a family with son Bob being born first, followed by the birth of daughter Ann. Rent for the "Cottage" at that time was $39.00 a month, which included utilities, a gardener, and security services. Bob was Director of Housing from 1952 to 1992. Bob and Ruth bought a home here in San Luis Obispo where they have lived since 1968.
According to Bob Bostrom, the Hillcrest Cottage was built of knotty pine that came from a shipwreck in Morro Bay. Julian McPhee, College President at that time, heard of the shipwreck and gathered together many of the "male only" student population (1800 male students) and went to the shipwreck site where they procured the knotty pine which was present in the cottage until its demolition in December, 2005.
In 1992, after 40 years as Director of Housing, Robert Bostrom "passed the baton" to the current director of Housing and Residential Life, Preston C. Allen.
In December, 2005, Housing and Residential Life staff and guests bid farewell to the Hillcrest Cottage, which was removed to make way for the new Housing Administration Building (see photo collage, above). The University approved a new campus facility for the Housing and Residential Life Department in order to meet the critical needs of a growing resident student population.
For a number of years, the campus housing capacity stood at 2783 bed spaces. In Fall 2003, 800 beds were added with the opening of the Cerro Vista Apartments, bringing the total bed capacity to 3583. With the planned completion of Poly Canyon Village Apartments in the next few years, another 2710 bed spaces will be added.
Poly Canyon Village Apartments is expected to make Cal Poly the largest student housing program within the CSU system. At that point it is estimated that Cal Poly's housing program will be twice as large as any of its sister campuses.
The core objectives for the new Housing offices are:
- To provide an appropriate facility for introducing prospective students, their families, and the public in general to Cal Poly's housing program.
- To replace inadequate office space in existing, substandard buildings that were originally small houses and not offices.
- To provide an effective working environment for staff and students involved in the housing program.
- To consolidate into one location, the administrative, business, facilities and residence life components of the campus housing program.
In August, 2007, in response to the growth of the department and to more clearly define what the department does as a group, Housing and Residential Life was given a new name: University Housing.
University Housing will continue to provide the same excellent service and support from our new offices located on Mountain Lane on the exact site formerly occupied by the Hillcrest Cottage.