Meredith Willson Residence Hall

The Meredith Willson Residence Hall (named for the noted Juilliard alumnus, and composer of The Music Man and other Broadway scores) was Juilliard's first major construction project since the completion of its own Lincoln Center classroom building more than thirty years ago. Since opening in October 1990, it has provided the School's first on-campus housing in the Samuel B. and David Rose Building adjacent to Juilliard's main classroom and performance building to accommodate the student artists' early-class and late-performance hours. Rapid development of New York's Upper West Side during the last two decades made it increasingly difficult for students to find safe, convenient, and affordable housing. Although increases in scholarships and living stipends helped ameliorate costs, the awards frequently were offset by yet another increase in area rents. Creation of the residence hall offered Juilliard its first opportunity to control those costs and to alleviate the financial burden on students by providing subsidized room and board, ensuring that students would not be forced to spend excessive amounts of time earning rent money or commuting long distances. Juilliard's student body comprises musicians, dancers, and actors who come from some 46 foreign countries, 44 states, Washington DC, and Puerto Rico. Three hundred and fifty young artists (almost half of the Juilliard student body) live in the Meredith Willson Residence Hall this year.

The residence hall offers facilities to enhance the quality of life for all members of the Juilliard community. Areas are designed to meet the students' social, educational, and physical needs. In 1998, a brand-new, comprehensive Health and Fitness Center opened on the 22nd floor of the residence hall as its first major addition. The Hall houses a health office, physical therapy area, and the Frederick P. Rose Fitness Center, which was made possible by a generous gift from Mr. Rose. Other residence hall facilities include lounges for informal gatherings, practice rooms, laundry facilities, a computer lab, and apartments for Residence Life personnel. Juilliard students benefit from frequent appearances by guest artists and visiting faculty; these distinguished performers and scholars can be housed in the hall's guest studios, living among students and available for impromptu discussion. The residence hall incorporates six studios for visiting faculty, two small apartments, and the Susan and Elihu Rose suite among its accommodations.

Juilliard's role as 24-hour guardian for its students is managed by the Student Affairs Office. The Office's services include housing referral information, the School's student council, the planning of social functions, educational programs throughout the year, and orientation sessions that introduce new students to each other and the institution. A traditional and very successful "Resident Assistant" program positions older students as mentors to groups of students who live in the residence hall. They are the first line of intervention when problems arise and are available to fulfill student needs on a 24-hour basis. Juilliard's security provisions include (in both the residence hall and the classroom building) full-time guards at the front desks, security camera placements throughout the buildings, and electronic ID cards for all students, faculty, and staff with individual digital coding that provides access through turnstiles at entries.

The Meredith Willson Residence Hall in
The Samuel B. and David Rose Building
70 Lincoln Center Plaza
Architects: Davis, Brody & Associates, NYC

  • Enter building at plaza level (3rd floor) within the base building that contains offices and facilities for Lincoln Center and its constituents, the Walter Reade Theater for Lincoln Center's Film Society, and a cafeteria servicing students, Juilliard faculty and staff, and Lincoln Center employees.
  • Take elevators to the 11th floor "crossover" to residence floors.
  • 24-hour security checks exist at the entry level and again at the 11th floor crossover where Juilliard and School of American Ballet students transfer to a separate bank of elevators servicing only the residence floors and the health and fitness center.

11th floor facilities include:

  • A large social lounge
  • A renovated kitchen available for limited student use
  • Residence personnel offices

[The School of American Ballet occupies the 12th through 16th floors]

The 17th through 21st and 23rd through 28th floors contain housing suites for Juilliard students, four furnished suites per floor (approximately 1200 square feet each).

  • Each suite consists of two single rooms, three double rooms, 2 1/2 baths and a large living room with bay window
  • Each floor contains two sound-isolated practice rooms with pianos EXCEPT the 17th floor where the rooms are used by piano technicians for maintenance and repair centers

The 22nd floor contains:

  • A health office with three exam rooms
  • A physical therapy clinic
  • The Frederick P. Rose Fitness Center with a cardiovascular equipment room with sixteen cardiovascular machines such as treadmills, stationary bicycles, and climbers; a strength-training area which features fifteen Cybex weight-training machines; and as a stretching area, lockers, and showers
  • A Counseling Center with an office, waiting room, and individual counseling rooms
  • An apartment for a full-time residence supervisor

The 29th floor contains:

  • The Susan and Elihu Rose Suite for social receptions and visiting artist accommodations
  • Four visiting faculty studios
  • An apartment for a full-time residence supervisor

Meredith Willson Residence Hall Costs

Students cost for room and board: double room $11,810; single room $14,740 (figures for 2009-2010 school year; include both residence hall and meal plan costs)

Fundraising Campaign
The total campaign for the entire Lincoln Center project, named the Samuel B. and David Rose Building, was approximately $100 million. Juilliard's portion of that figure was approximately 25%, based on the proportion of the building's cubic footage that is Juilliard's.

Juilliard's building campaign was concluded with a gift from Mrs. Rosemary Willson and the naming of The Meredith Willson Residence Hall, after her late husband who was a Juilliard alumnus.

The Rose Fitness Center was made possible by a generous gift from Frederick P. Rose.


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