CSU Buildings and Grounds History

Lory Apartments, 1951

From CSU's Sense of Place:  A Campus History of Colorado's Land-Grant University, by James E. Hansen, Gordon A. Hazard, and Linda M. Meyer.  Fort Collins, CO:  Colorado State University, 2018.

Architect – Charles Dunwoody Strong of Denver

Builder – N. G. Petry Construction Company of Denver

905 West Laurel Street / 715, 719, 723 South Washington Avenue

On July 3, 1949, it was announced in the Fort Collins Coloradoan that approval had been given to build a pair of three-story apartments west of Veterans’ Village and two blocks south of the new Albert L. Dunn Elementary School still under construction.  Designed by Denver architect Charles D. Strong, the cost would be $583,000 for the two blond-brick buildings that each would have 36 apartments with 18 being single-bedroom and 18 being two-bedroom units.  In later years they became known as the Lory Apartments North and Lory Apartments South; they were designed to be used by female students and some of the newer and lower paid faculty members.  The two buildings were completed and ready for occupancy for fall quarter 1950.

When construction started, West Laurel Street dead-ended at the intersection of South Washington Avenue.  The 700 block of South Washington Avenue extended into the campus and bordered the apartment complex on the east.  Armstrong Avenue extended into campus and bordered the apartments on the west.  West Laurel Street would have to be extended to the west to provide access to the two new apartment buildings.  Work on the project started on July 15, 1949 with a targeted occupancy date of January 1950.  By October, the finish date for the project was moved to February 1950.  Due to difficulty getting materials, the actual opening date was September 1950. When opened, this section of West Laurel Street was still an unpaved muddy mess until the summer of 1951.

These apartments were being built to help ease the housing crunch for both students and faculty in Fort Collins that came about after the war as well as all of the veterans going to college.  It had been anticipated that by the fall of 1950, many of these students would have graduated and the housing pressure would be over.  This did not happen. As construction started in late summer of 1949, faculty members unable to secure other housing in town occupied thirty of the 72 Veterans’ Village Quonset units as they awaited the completion of the Lory Apartments.

The dedication of the two-building complex came on May 6, 1951.  The north building commonly known as Lory Hall was named to honor Carrie Richards Lory, the late wife of Dr. Charles Lory.  She had passed away in September 1948.  Past Presidents Charles A. Lory and Isaac E. Newsom along with current President William E. Morgan each spoke at the dedication ceremony.  This building was used to house single female students. It was also commonly known as “North Hall”.  Lory Hall began housing 174 women for the fall quarter of 1950 in an apartment environment.

The south building was used as housing for faculty members and simply called the “Faculty Apartments”.  Over the years, the complex became commonly known as the “Lory Apartments”.  In 1958 it was being used primarily as married student housing and starting in the 1970s as housing for international students.

The Lory Apartments were first “deconstructed” to save and recycle usable materials. Once this was done, the remaining structure was demolished in September and October 2012 to make room for the “Laurel Village” residence hall complex.