town square
Final verdicts on Trojan Hall, Marks Hall
“Town Square” is a monthly installment where we collect responses and anecdotes from the USC community.
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USC begins demolishing Marks Hall, Trojan Hall
FROM THE ARCHIVES
December 4, 1953: President Fred D. Fagg Jr. hosts a dedication ceremony for Marks Hall, named after the Los Angeles businessman David X. Marks.
The residence hall was initially constructed as a men’s residence; Fagg later announced plans to add adjacent men’s and women’s residences in 1955. Trojan Hall was also built in the 1950s.
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Since at least June 15, USC has begun demolishing Trojan Hall and Marks Hall, the infamous — though perhaps less so than New North, which is somehow still intact — dorms that were closed since the coronavirus pandemic. Countless freshmen have walked the halls, terrorized the communal bathrooms, sweated profusely in rooms with no AC, contracted “mold induced asthma” — according to one commenter under an Instagram post we published to solicit responses for this story — and, in all that chaos, made friends along the way.
We’ve collected some anecdotes — edited for length and clarity — from former residents, whose memories of these dorms range from as recent as 2021 to decades old.
I lived in Trojan Hall, and the building wasn’t great but the people were fantastic. I’m still very close to a couple of the women from my floor, and I know we’ll be friends for life. I wouldn’t have wanted to live anywhere else freshman year. I think we were the last building on campus to have separate floors for men & women. If I remember correctly, the women on our floor lovingly referred to ourselves as “Tro Hoes,” and some of us had an all-girls skate gang that would ride around campus. Living above Ground Zero was also the best, although dangerous to be that close to custom milkshakes.
Nikki David, 2014 graduate
The 4th floor of Marks Tower in 2021 was the place to be. Someone put up a flier outside the bathroom pretending to be management saying that shower drains were clogged with semen. [Similar satirical “masturbation notices” were posted at UC San Diego, the University of Miami and at least 24 other colleges in the United States.] Also, this guy got food poisoning and vomited blood in the bathroom stall and there was blood splatter on the door for the entire year — never got cleaned. As much as there were lots of nasty moments, our tiny floor had such a great community bonded by our experiences, and so many of us continue to be friends to this day.
Carlo Meglio, junior majoring in cognitive science
Trojan Hall was THE best part of my freshman year. The girl who ended up being my best friend for the past six years and counting lived right across the hall from me, and even after graduation we still keep in touch and hang out with a lot of the people who lived in that building. It’s sad to see Trojan Hall go because, even though it was super outdated, we all bonded over it and became close. I used to keep my door open all the time when I was in my room, and that’s how I ended up meeting a lot of my friends. A lot of my greatest USC memories happened in that building and some of my most treasured friendships formed there. I’ll always hold Trojan Hall close to my heart.
April Robles, 2021 graduate
April Robles (top row, third from left) poses for a photo with friends. (April Robles)
