Bancroft Hall at the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland, is the largest single dormitory in the world.[1][2][3] Bancroft Hall, named after former Secretary of the Navy George Bancroft, is home for the entire brigade of 4,000 midshipmen[4], and contains some 1,700 rooms, 4.8 miles (7.7 km) of corridors[5], and 33 acres (13 ha) of floor space. All the basic facilities that midshipmen need for daily living are found in the hall. [6] It is affectionately referred to as "Mother B" or "The Hall" by Midshipmen.
Bancroft Hall, designed by Beaux-Arts architect Ernest Flagg and built in 1901–06, has eight wings of five stories ("decks") each numbered 0-4. In addition to the midshipmen rooms, Bancroft Hall houses offices for the Commandant of Midshipmen, six battalion officers, six battalion chaplains, thirty company officers and their senior enlisted leaders, a barbershop, bank, travel office, a small restaurant known as "Steerage," textbook store, general store ("The Naval Academy Store" or "The Mid Store"), laundromat, uniform store, cobbler shop, the USNA Band, the USNA branch of the United States Postal Service, a gymnasium, spaces for extracurricular activities, and full medical & dental clinics as well as small optometry and orthopedics clinics. The Hall has its own ZIP code (21412).
The building also contains King Hall (named after Fleet Admiral Ernest King), where all midshipmen are fed simultaneously three times daily, and Memorial Hall, where scrolls and plaques commemorate alumni and naval personnel lost in battle. Below Memorial Hall is Smoke Hall whose walls honor those who lost their lives while still Midshipmen. Memorial Hall and the Rotunda of Bancroft Hall are open to the general public but access to the rest of the building is normally limited to assigned Naval personnel.
There are twenty-one rooms in Bancroft dedicated to each Academy graduate Medal of Honor winner since the start of World War II.
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The Rotunda and Memorial Hall
Central to the Hall is the Rotunda, wings on either side. Over the Rotunda is a large mural of the USS South Dakota in the Battle of Guadalcanal.
Memorial Hall opens off the Rotunda. This hall contains the honor roll of all Academy graduates who have died in military operations. There are 489 panes of glass in the skylight.
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A view inside of Memorial Hall inside of Bancroft Hall
The interior of the Rotunda of Bancroft Hall; the steps lead up to Memorial Hall
Commander-in-Chief's Trophy
The Commander-in-Chief's Trophy is awarded to each season's winner of the triangular college football series among the United States Naval Academy (Navy Midshipmen), the United States Military Academy (Army Black Knights), and the United States Air Force Academy (Air Force Falcons). When Navy has possession of the trophy, it is displayed in a glass case in the Rotunda.
References
- ^ Annapolis Maryland Area Information
- ^ KNLS American Highway, Page Two
- ^ U.S. Naval Academy - Reviews and Ratings of Sights in Annapolis - New York Times Travel
- ^ Annapolis Hotels Boating and Dining - Itinerary Helps in Planning Annapolis Visit on Annapolis.com
- ^ Reef Points, Naval Institute Press
- ^ Military Heritage, February 2005, Volume 6, No. 4, p.72
External references
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