Blacker Hovse FAQ
-
Blacker Hovse is one of 8 undergraduate houses at Caltech. The closest
description is a non-greek, co-ed fraturnity. Caltech had greek fraturnities
that disbanded to form the Houses. The first Houses, Blacker, Dabney, Fleming
and Ricketts were designed by architecht Gordon F. Kaufman (who also designed
the Atheneaum). Blacker is named after Mr. Robert Roe Blacker, a Caltech
trustee, that donated $200,000 to build the Hovse.
The construction started circa April 1930 and was completed
by September 1931. These 4 Houses are known as the South Houses. In 1960
three more houses were constructed to the North of the South Houses and are
named Lloyd, Page and Ruddock. The last house, Avery was built in the
mid 1990s.
In 1931 Blacker had 62 rooms with 75 spaces for students. After World War II, with the influx of veterans on the GI bill, 98 men were living in the Hovse. By the late 1980s through 2005 Blacker had 57 rooms with 69 spaces. Blacker, along with the other 3 South Hovses was closed for renovations for all of the 2005-6 academic year and 1st term 2006. During this time students lived in trailers located on the north side of campus. Returning 2nd term 2007 found Blacker with 55 rooms but only 67 spaces.
2330 people are known to have been members of Blacker over the past 75 years.
The FAQ is organized into topical sections:
| Definitions: | Common language used at Tech |
| History: | Origins of Blacker and major events |
| Traditions: | What we do and why it is done |
| Traditional Events: | A closer look at what Moles do year after year |
| Annual Social Schedule: | What the year looks like |
| Hovse Tour: | A verbal walkthrough with pictures |
| Games: | Flicking at its best |
| Past Events and Stories: | Legends from the mists of time |
| FAQ versions: | Back when I was a frosh... |
version: 2.1
Last modified: 24 September 2023, Copyright 2023
Contact Ben