Rowell Jackman Hall

Rowell Jackman Hall, known to students as RJ, or alternately Cinderblock Palace, is a student residence at Victoria College in the University of Toronto. It is the newest of Vic's residence having been completed in 1993. It is named after Mary Rowell Jackman whose son Henry N. R. Jackman made a substantial donation to the project.

It stands just to the east of Burwash Hall on Charles St. and is west of St. Mike's Loretto College. Before the RJ was built the site was home to a parking lot and the historic Stephenson House. Prior to construction Stephenson House was moved to a new location further east on Charles St. The building's construction caused some controversy as it greatly disrupted life in Burwash. After student protests the Vic administration agreed to offer Burwash students a rebate on their rent.

The eight storey building is an apartment style residence with each floor divided into a number of suites. Each suite contains between three and five bedrooms, a kitchen, a living room and two bathrooms. When it was completed RJ was mainly home to upper years and graduate students. Today it only houses underdgrads and has a considerable number of first years, except for the Marchand-Smith wing, or International House, which continues to house a number of upper years.

References

*http://www.vicu.utoronto.ca/students/residence/buildings/jackman.htm