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Carnall Hall Centennial Weekend, Part II
FRIDAY, AUGUST 25--We arrived to find The Inn at Carnall to be wonderfully restored, a welcome sight, considering that the last time we saw this building in 1999, it was abandoned, surrounded by weeds and a chain-link fence, with the roof and porches rotting off. Some of my friends were probably puzzled why I wanted to visit the centennial of a building, but as one of the other women attending said, "late at night, when I stay in my old room, the spirits of all those women who lived and studied here are still there." I lived in Carnall Hall (pronounced car NELL) from the fall of 1962 to the fall of 1964, my sophomore, junior and senior years at the University of Arkansas. The hall was named for Ella Howison Carnall, one of the first women faculty members at U of A. Ella was associate professor of English and modern languages from 1891 until her untimely death in 1894 at the age of 32. This building, opened in 1906 as the first dormitory for women at the U of A, was named for her. It cost $35,000 to build the Colonial Revival/Victorian structure.
Carnall Hall ceased to be a dormitory in 1967. It was occupied for a while by a fraternity and some academic departments in the 1970s. The building was accepted for the National Register of Historic Places in December 1982. In 1991 it was closed down completely and its slow deterioration began. The building was saved in a long struggle by alumnae, legislators, local preservationists and some university officials. A private developer was found in 2001, and the Inn at Carnall, a 49-room upscale hotel and Ella's Restaurant, opened in 2003. The renovation cost $7.1 million!
Some of my friends had attended earlier events to celebrate Carnall's resurrection, but this concluding centennial weekend was my first opportunity to see what had become of the old home place. The grand staircase from the center hall to second floor has been restored, as have the well worn pine floors throughout the building. Former dormitory rooms have been combined and expanded to create suites for king or double queen beds and private baths! No more scuffing down the hall to take a shower or brush our teeth! This was Room 307 where we stayed. Norm wasn't the only male guest who commented during the weekend that he had finally gotten to spend a night in a women's dorm.
FRIDAY, AUGUST 25--We arrived to find The Inn at Carnall to be wonderfully restored, a welcome sight, considering that the last time we saw this building in 1999, it was abandoned, surrounded by weeds and a chain-link fence, with the roof and porches rotting off. Some of my friends were probably puzzled why I wanted to visit the centennial of a building, but as one of the other women attending said, "late at night, when I stay in my old room, the spirits of all those women who lived and studied here are still there." I lived in Carnall Hall (pronounced car NELL) from the fall of 1962 to the fall of 1964, my sophomore, junior and senior years at the University of Arkansas. The hall was named for Ella Howison Carnall, one of the first women faculty members at U of A. Ella was associate professor of English and modern languages from 1891 until her untimely death in 1894 at the age of 32. This building, opened in 1906 as the first dormitory for women at the U of A, was named for her. It cost $35,000 to build the Colonial Revival/Victorian structure.
Carnall Hall ceased to be a dormitory in 1967. It was occupied for a while by a fraternity and some academic departments in the 1970s. The building was accepted for the National Register of Historic Places in December 1982. In 1991 it was closed down completely and its slow deterioration began. The building was saved in a long struggle by alumnae, legislators, local preservationists and some university officials. A private developer was found in 2001, and the Inn at Carnall, a 49-room upscale hotel and Ella's Restaurant, opened in 2003. The renovation cost $7.1 million!
Some of my friends had attended earlier events to celebrate Carnall's resurrection, but this concluding centennial weekend was my first opportunity to see what had become of the old home place. The grand staircase from the center hall to second floor has been restored, as have the well worn pine floors throughout the building. Former dormitory rooms have been combined and expanded to create suites for king or double queen beds and private baths! No more scuffing down the hall to take a shower or brush our teeth! This was Room 307 where we stayed. Norm wasn't the only male guest who commented during the weekend that he had finally gotten to spend a night in a women's dorm. 
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