Located directly across from Village A, Ryan Hall, together with the Isaac Hawkins Hall, houses the Spirit of Georgetown Residential Academy, where 148 students live and have the "unique opportunity to reflect on their time at Georgetown through formative activities and events, founded on strong community engagement and ownership."1
Construction
Built with brick, Ryan Hall spans 29,770 square feet across four floors, a basement, and an attic. Completed in 1904, the building was dedicated to Mrs. Ida Ryan who gifted the funds for its construction. Ms. Ryan wanted her building to provide the University with as grand a view from the Potomac as Healy Hall did from the city side of campus.2
Dining Facilities and Robbery
Ryan opened as a student dormitory and dining hall. When the New South cafeteria opened in December 1959, the Jesuits took over Ryan's newly vacated dining facilities. In 1967, the Jesuit dining room in Ryan joined Copley and Harbin as victims of a string of burglaries across campus. The thieves made off with items valued up to $1,500 including several 19th century German paintings, a silver tea service, a silver candelabra, and a stereo that was ripped out of the windowsill.3
Jesuit Residence and Student Housing
In May 1975, students were removed from Ryan's third floor, and in 1977, they were removed from the second floor. The Jesuit community at Georgetown occupied the fourth floor of Ryan from 1957 until 2003 when they moved to the newly constructed Wolfington Hall. Ryan then became home to the Woodstock Theological Center, but mostly sat empty until construction began for the Spirit of Georgetown Residential Academy in 2013. Known around campus as the “Jes Res” (and formerly known as FJR - short for Former Jesuit Residence), the Spirit of Georgetown Residential Academy officially opened in 2015 and is composed of Gervase, Isaac Hawkins, and Ryan.
Although most of Ryan’s interior was redone to make space for upperclassmen apartment style units, the architects preserved Ryan’s great room. The area that once served as the main dining area for the University and then the Jesuits’ dining area now serves all students as a group gathering and study space equipped with pool tables.4
- 1"Ida Ryan & Isaac Hawkins Hall." https://residentialliving.georgetown.edu/ryanisaac/
- 2Francis X. Ballman, "Ryan Hall," Building Outlines Campus Buildings, 1789 – 1995, Father Lawrence Hurley Memorial Edition, Francis X. Ballmann and the Division of Facilities, 1995, p. 92.
- 3“Cat Burglars Hit Once More; Jesuit’s Dining Room Target.” The Hoya. 7 Dec. 1967.
- 4Owen Eagan, “Reviving History With New Academy.” The Hoya, 3 March 2015.
