Creighton closed the 58-year-old Kiewit Hall in 2023 and set its demolition date for May 2024. The end is near for the cherished residence hall. To celebrate Kiewit, we are revisiting its history and capturing its legacy by telling stories about the incredible experiences that defined dorm life here.
Do you have Kiewit memories you’d like to share? What stands out about your time in Kiewit? Send your fun, nostalgia-filled stories to jonnyatawa@creighton.edu and we may include them in a future feature.
By Jon Nyatawa
Kiewit Hall was your home. The backdrop — and sometimes the catalyst — for memories that will forever stick with you.
But it was someone else's home, too. Thousands walked those halls, and Kiewit didn't play favorites. Each year, for five-plus decades, the nine-floor, sandy-hued dormitory faithfully delivered specific, meaningful and unforgettable stories for all who lived there.
There were watch parties ... and holiday parties ... and dance parties ... and way-too-many-people-in-my-room parties. There was neutral zone chaos, always. Some of you accidentally smashed a water fountain. Played soccer or had nerf wars in the halls. Made a mess with water squirters and super soakers. “Survived” a fire (more on that later).
Some of you used pool noodles to cushion your heads against the bottom of your bed’s loft. Decorated your room with Christmas lights and posters. Enjoyed top-floor, penthouse-style views of campus and Omaha.
It was probably too hot in most of your rooms in the winter. The A/C units weren’t reliable when the sun’s rays were unrelenting in the late summer and early spring. And if you lived in Kiewit before 1985, well, your fan better have been working.
You might have helped raise money and donated time to service. Or dealt with weird smells and skinny showers. Or ate really, really well at Becker Dining Hall and had some great conversations in the Fishbowl. Or finished all of your homework — er, uh… got totally distracted by friends and stayed up too late laughing and talking before finally and hastily rushing to complete assignments just before class.
But for everyone, what mattered most at Kiewit were relationships with your people. Classmates turned into soul mates. Your best friends for life.
If Kiewit’s walls could talk as demolition nears, they’d likely say, “Glad, you had fun.” And, “OW!”
The beginning
Kiewit Hall opened in 1966 as an all-female dorm – officially dubbed the Anna Kiewit Residence Hall, named after the late mother of renowned Omaha businessman Peter Kiewit.
Three hundred women moved in the first year. Then 500 in 1967.
It cost $3.5 million to build and almost one third of the funds came directly from Peter Kiewit’s gift, which marked the first of many contributions he and his family made to support major campus enhancements over the years (most notably, the Kiewit Fitness Center).
Kiewit developed friendships with former Creighton presidents Rev. H.W. Linn Jr., SJ, and the Rev. Carl Reinert, SJ. The Peter Kiewit Foundation has helped Creighton's campus over several decades, most recently by providing the funding to secure several properties on the east side of campus allowing the University to expand its athletic and residential living facilities.
Joining Kiewit Hall was the $850,000 Becker Dining Hall, named after Charles and Winifred Becker. Charles served on the Board of Trustees.
The new campus additions were part of a mid-to-late-60s building boom at Creighton that helped to address growing enrollment and pave the way to modernization. Gallagher Hall, Swanson Hall, Deglman Hall, the Alumni Memorial Library and the entire Criss medical complex were among the 60s-era projects that transformed the look and feel of campus.
And right away, life was good at Kiewit.
Residents were treated to “a plushy carpeted lounge, faky plastic flowers and a $2,000 sofa,” Edwina Jose wrote in the Creightonian in 1968. The carpets varied from autumn brown, to blue, to green, to gold. The furniture’s upholstery matched with plain, printed patterns.
For many students, Kiewit was their introduction to independence. It brought together people from different backgrounds and cultivated a sense of community as residents dealt with new challenges together. They collaborated, they inspired one another and they formed strong bonds.
What came first, the chicken or the fire?
Fire alarms forced evacuations and disrupted peaceful sleeps throughout Kiewit’s years. Such is the result of young adults living alone for the first time.
There was an electrical fire in 2007. A trash chute fire in 1972. Another fire in 1973. One in 2005. Dumpster fires and kitchen fires, you name it. But there was one particularly odd circumstance in 1968.
A fire alarm woke up students around midnight on Monday, Oct. 7, forcing an evacuation.
But there was no fire. Only a chicken.
“(The chicken) was just standing there, looking at itself in the mirror next to the elevator,” Eileen Schroeder, an eighth-floor resident, told the Creightonian.
Evidentially, it was a prank. Some male students were seen running from Kiewit as the alarms began to sound.
‘Quieter and home-like'
Men moved into Kiewit in 1975, a decision influenced by a student survey that supported co-ed housing. But the change didn’t disrupt the dorm’s balance and reputation.
The building was itself quite large, but individual floors — sometimes even specific wings or sections — developed their own personalities, norms and fads. Unique communities within the larger community.
And students felt that Kiewit’s vibe was quite chill. Quiet, even. It was a place to study with friends.
"Kiewit is a great place to live," said Linda Guzman, BSPHA'90, a fifth-floor resident in 1988. "We know how to have a good time, but we have our priorities set."
Said Brenda Speer, BS'84, who lived in Kiewit for three years: "Many people come to Kiewit as a refuge from busier places. You’re not on stage. You can be yourself and just relax ... There is a feeling of warmth and security."
And this from Lynn Sanderson, BSN'86, head resident advisor in 1986: “Kiewit has a real community atmosphere. It's more of a home for the students instead of a place to play. That doesn't mean we don't have our active times, but it really is quieter and more home-like."
Safe to say, things evolved over time.
Eventually, Kiewit became THE residence hall choice for first-year students. The social dorm. Lively and fun. There was rarely a dull moment.
In 1982, things got quite festive around Christmas. That's when fourth-floor residents decided to take their mind off end-of-semester projects and finals. Their dead week mission: decorate a couch.
This excerpt from the Creightonian provides some detail: "The seven-foot, blue-green couch was transformed by fourth-floor Kiewit into an ornamented, decorated wonder — complete with stringed popcorn, sparkling bulbs, candy canes and an angel that occupies the peak of what (one student) calls the floor's 'majestic Canadian evergreen.'"
Also, speaking of traditions...
Kiewit's haunted houses in the 1990s were legendary. Or, at the very least, just super fun and hilarious.
Kiewit's cool people
How do you tell the full story of a building like Kiewit? What kind of legacy remains once the structure comes down?
It’s hard to pinpoint. There are so many stories, and everyone who lived there has their own unique memories. Kiewit’s charm and its significance to Creighton alumni has never been fully defined by a few common experiences. Then and now, students' connections to Kiewit resonate because of what they felt when they lived there.
Perhaps Kristin Bleakley, BA'96, stated it best in the 1994 Blue Jay Yearbook. Her succinct response to a question about why she enjoyed life at Kiewit Hall.
"The people here are really cool."
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- Read more about favorite memories from Kiewit Hall alumni.
- Photo gallery: The demolition of Kiewit Hall.
- "A turning point for women on campus." How Kiewit Hall's first residents were reacting in 1966.
- Bonus link! Check out this 360-degree tour of a Kiewit Hall dorm room.