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Issue date: 11/30/07 Section: Trinity Life

Media Credit: E.J. Roberts MI CASA ES SU CASA: Trinity acquired this home in 1972, which has served as the residence for a variety of people over the years.

As Vespers and "Christmas on Oakmont" approaches, many look forward to the stroll down this wide street as a way to unwind before final exams. Oakmont's sprawling live oak trees, twisting their way to the ground and then again toward the sky on the lawns of the old regal homes that line the street, have become iconic images associated with the event. One gets a sense, as they stand beneath those signature stone pillars and glowing lamp posts that have become so synonymous with the neighborhood, of the long history that exists there.
However, every year, as students visit each vice president's home, all of which twinkle with inviting light, one draws nearer toward the mysteriously dark end of the street. A common assumption made by students is that all of these homes at the end of Oakmont are private residences not owned by the University.
Yet there is one residence that is not included in the festivities which still belongs to Trinity. Built in 1928, this "other house on Oakmont," located across the street from the Holt Center with the number 115, has played an important role for many years, not only as the residence for visiting professors, but it has also served many other functions.
From the 1960s until the mid-1980s, according to John Greene, director of Physical Plant, the University's policy was to acquire any home that became available between the streets of Mulberry, Hildebrand and east of Shook. Greene knows of nine residential properties that were once owned by Trinity in this area and were later sold. Once the Monte Vista Historical District was established, the University gave up its pursuit of the homes. However, the estates on Oakmont are some of the last remaining properties left over from this period of acquisition.
115 Oakmont was officially acquired by Trinity in 1972. It was originally the dean of students' residence, but from that time onward it has filled numerous roles. During the 1979-1980 school year, it was the residence to nine Trinity students as a result of overcrowding in the dorms. In the early 1980s, it served as the temporary residence for the director of Campus Safety. And just recently, it served as office space for the Department of Development during Northrup Hall's renovation.

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