What is it?
Cary Quadrangle is an all-male dorm at Purdue University, located in West Lafayette, IN. It houses some 1,600 men, in rooms of various shapes and sizes, ranging from tiny singles (in some cases converted to doubles, which is the case for me), to luxurious triples or even quadruples.
There are cafeterias below the southeast and southwest parts of the quad, called Cary Northwest and Cary Southeast. In one can be found the Glop of the Day, a stirfry bar, a salad bar, and a taco bar. In the other, a sandwich bar, a salad bar, a pizza bar, and soup of the day. Both have ice cream machines, drink dispensers, and other useful things. Both have plenty of seating, and hard-working (though occasionally creepy) cafeterial staffs.
There are four floors in all the buildings (of which there are five). It is laid out roughly in this manner:
######################## W
# 4 # #### S+N
######################## # # E
### # #
# # # #
# ##### #5 #
# 2 # # # 1. Southeast.
##### # # # 2. Southwest.
# # # # 3. The Office
# # # # 4. West
@@@@@ #### 5. Northwest
@ @ 6. Northeast
@ 3 @ 7. East
@@@@@ ####
# # # #
# # # #
##### # # #
# 1 # # #
# ##### #6 #
# # # #
### # #
######################## # #
# 7 # ####
########################
A brief rundown on the layout. First off, Southwest, Southeast, and The Office are one connected building. (This is why there are 5 buildings and 7 items on the legend.) The Office is actually only on the ground floor.
As of writing, West and Northwest are under heavy remodelling. Northeast has been remodelled, and has a bunch of regularly shaped and sized (large) rooms. It still smells of new paint... I feel it's lost a lot of the charm Cary has, as the other buildings have lobbies full of rich woods, and rooms of varying and unique shapes and sizes.
East has study lounges on multiple floors, and the basement is where Cary's laundry and vending facilities are located. There is also a pool table, table tennis, and big screen tv in the lounge. People often go there to study.
Where is it?
The official address is:
Cary Quadrangle
West Lafayette, IN 47906-4243
765-494-2472
But that's not very useful! Cary is located on Stadium St., near the Ross Ade Stadium. It can be found specifically at either the Stadium and University intersection or the Stadium and Russell intersection (depending if you want the southeast or southwest corners, respectively).
Relative to campus, if you head down the engineering mall (which runs roughly NW from the big round fountain), it'll be right in front of you. It's very convenient for engineering majors, because it's the closest dorm to the north end of campus, where all the engineering buildings are. You can get to class in ten minutes.
Why is it and what is its history?
To answer this, I had best quote the university website:
Cary Hall opened in 1928. Franklin Masten Cary was born in Detroit, Michigan, May 27, 1858, a son of Captain Charles H. and Eliza Cary, and on November 23, 1892, he married Miss Jessie Levering. They had one son, Franklin Levering Cary who died in 1912 at the age of 19.
After his retirement, Mr. Cary devoted increasing time and thought to philanthropies. He purchased 41 acres of land, east of Lafayette, and presented it to the local Boy Scouts organization as a campsite, in memory of his son. He was a financial contributor to the first men's residence hall at Purdue. The hall was named in honor of his son.
As the University grew, so did the need for housing. Cary now has five separate buildings and is referred to as Cary Quadrangle. A wide variety of activities and strong traditions are offered at Cary, including Cary Fest, a week of events before the Springtime Grand Prix race.
-- http://www.housing.purdue.edu/Cary.htm