by Katherine Williams

West Hall is all that remains today of Arizona State University's quadrangle: a group of four dormitories that hosted students attending the institution. East Hall was built first, in 1903, and twin structures of South and North Halls were constructed in 1913 and 1914, respectively. West Hall went up in 1936, completing the quad, which survived until 1964, when East Hall was razed.

The quadrangle was a place of glorious tradition: wide lawns with "multi-shaped shrubs," the annual social highlight of the "Daisy Ring Ball," where newly-engaged couples were escorted through a daisy ring, the Greek Sing, and the infamous sleeping porches.

Each of the halls had year-round screened sleeping porches. Occupants were expected to sleep there -- in fact, students had to receive permission from the college nurse in order to sleep in a room. The porches were covered with canvas awnings, which were lowered in a nightly ritual before "lights out" call.

During World War II the porches were covered with glass, and in 1951, cooling was installed. Prior to that, ventilation came in the form of occasional breezes that wafted down the hall.

South Hall had its set of sleeping porches, of course, and its own set of traditions. It accommodated 34 freshman and sophomore women.

An early report characterized it as having "all the modern conveniences: electric lights, steam heat, and water from pipes." Sally Hayden, daughter of Arizona senator Carl Hayden, was the head resident, or "preceptress," for many years.

The social events at South Hall were distinctive and classy. Around Valentine's Day each year, the women held their annual "Sweetheart Dance" to honor engaged women of the hall.

Another tradition was the annual spring formal, a dinner dance often held at the Arizona Ambassador hotel. Each evening had a different theme: "Rhapsody by Candlelight," the "Blue Moon" dance, and a Yule Log ceremony at Christmastime.

Unfortunately, the decline of South Hall soon followed the demise of East Hall. In 1967, South Hall began to be used for office space, and by 1972, the building had been invaded by swarms of termites, and the cost of maintenance had become prohibitive. Both South and North Halls were demolished.

The Daisy Ring Ceremony began in 1938 and became a long standing West Hall tradition. This 1945 photo shows a spring formal where a co-ed and her escort step through the ring to signify their engagement. She received a daisy bouquet and danced with her fiance to the tune "Daisies Won't Tell".

A sleeping porch is shown on North Hall. The porches were a necessity before the invention of air conditioning.

This aerial photo looking south from just above University Drive and Palm Walk in circa 1950 shows the quadrangle of dormitories in the upper-left part of the photo.