Schenley Quadrangle - Bruce Hall

Bruce Hall

Bruce Hall houses 212 men and women, primarily upperclass students, in four- and six-person suites. The building is named for the first chancellor after the University was renamed from the Pittsburgh Academy to the Western University of Pennsylvania, Robert Bruce. Bruce Hall served as a university office building until those offices were moved into Posvar Hall thereby allowing Bruce Hall to be converted into housing suites beginning in 1978.

Basement and First Floor The basement and first floor of Bruce Hall are actually on the street level with Forbes Avenue, and are rented out to The UPS Store and 7 Eleven.

Second Floor The second floor is the main entrance for residents, as well as the location of the University of Pittsburgh Residence Life offices.

Third Floor The third floor houses the sorority Theta Phi Alpha.

Fourth through Eleventh Floors The fourth through eleventh floors are entirely student suites. Each floor has 6 suites, 5 4-person suites and 1 six-person suite with laundry facilities on each floor. The 6-person suites on the upper floors have an exceptional view of the Cathedral of Learning, Schenley Plaza, and the Carnegie Museum of Natural History out of the common room's windows.

Twelfth Floor The twelfth floor is home to the University's catering service, as well as a meeting room in suite 1201 reserved for activities held by the President or Vice President of the University. It was usually impossible to get to the twelfth floor without an elevator key, although recently access to the twelfth floor has not been as restrictive as in the past.

A five bedroom, four-bath suite on the twelfth floor of Bruce Hall also once served as the University's chancellor residence.

The Ghost of 1201 Bruce Hall Many students and university employees, as well as various outside sources, believe that a ghost or two haunts the 1201 suite of Bruce. The owner of the Schenley Apartments once lived with his family on the twelfth floor. Rumor has it that his mistress and/or wife committed suicide in the 1201 by either hanging herself or throwing herself out the window. Students and staff have reported hearing footsteps in the stairwells and the halls, as well as a woman's voice, while some have reported poltergiest-like activity. Others have heard stories of the elevators not stopping on their floor, and continuing up to the twelfth floor and refusing to go back down. Traditionally referred to as "Harriet," the ghost, for which Pitt staff have even hung Christmas stockings for, has only been known to visit the 12th floor, the 11th floor, and suite 8B on the 8th floor, where she is said to have lived.