The Hall on Virginia Avenue is GW’s residence hall claim to fame. Everyone knows room 723 was used as a lookout for the famous Watergate break-in that led to President Richard Nixon’s downfall.
Other residence halls shouldn’t feel too left out, though. Plenty of GW’s dorms have had their own moment in history.

Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy Onassis Hall: In 1961, President John F. Kennedy received an honorary degree from GW and joked that it had taken his wife two years to get her degree, and “it took me only two minutes, but we are both grateful.” JBKO is named after the former first lady, who graduated from GW in two years in 1951 after transferring from Vassar College.

Mitchell Hall: Mitchell Hall was the only dormitory used to house visiting anti-war protestors and demonstrators during the Vietnam War.

The Schenley: The first Miss America, Margaret Gorman, owned The Schenley during the 1920s, when it was an apartment building.

Strong Hall: Henry Alvah Strong donated $200,000 for the University to build an all-female residence hall under the condition that it remain women-only. Built in 1936, it was the first dorm GW constructed and was considered a big step in transforming GW into a more residential campus.

source: University Archives

-Sonia Gupta