Following the creation of the Academy in 1962, a solution for housing and dormitories on the central campus was needed. The first three of these housing units to be built were named Brahms, Beethoven, Mozart, circa 1950-1966. The following article is composed with information and text courtesy of summer intern Theresa Asevedo circa 2008, updated with information from the 2023-24 school year. 

Buildings

Beethoven House was one of three adjacent “longhouse” buildings intended for housing Camp faculty, staff, or hotel guests. When the Arts Academy arrived, a lounge was designed by Traverse City architect Bill Gralick to connect Beethoven to Mozart, and form a dormitory commonly known as “Mozart-Beethoven” or “M-B.” The southernmost of the three buildings was Brahms, later renamed McWhorter House, and though not physically connected was part of the same dorm group until the 2022-23 school year. It was renamed for Mr. Charles McWhorter in recognition of a gift from Van and Margaret Smith. All three buildings continue to house staff and guests in the summer months.  

Picasso and Hemingway Houses were 4th and 5th to be built in 1965. They were renamed c. 1988 when student body-president John Rosenberg and council members proposed names for this dorm and its sister dorm (now Picasso). Considering that all earlier dormitory names honored only musicians, the students sought to recognize other art disciplines. The names of Picasso and Hemingway were chosen, likely by student vote. During the school year, Picasso and Hemingway house underclassman boys (Pic) and girls (Hem), although they were previously switched, with Picasso housing girls and Hemmingway housing girls. An instructor of residence life in Hemingway, Joe Sacksteder, later became Director of Creative Writing (YEAR-2022). The photo he drew of the dorm is still hanging in a trophy case in the entrance to the dorm.

Thor Johnson House, also called “TJ” was built in 1960 and named in 1975 for Thor Johnson, who played in the National High School Orchestra [Southeastern division, 1929], made his first visits to Camp (1942-44) as a guest conductor and was the director of the Academy and conducted its orchestra from 1964 to 1967. Originally called the Women’s Dormitory, the building housed staff and University Division women in the summer and Academy students in the winter. Dedicated June 26, 1960 as “new dormitory” for Interlochen Arts Academy.

The Aaron and Helen L. DeRoy Center for Film Studies was funded by a 1.5 million dollar gift from the DeRoy Testamentary Foundation based in Southfield, Michigan. The building was dedicated October 6, 2006. The east wing of the building contains two floors of dormitories. The dormitory area houses students during the winter; faculty and staff in the summer. Sometime around 2022 or 2023, the dorm was grouped with McWhorter house, known to students as “McRoy.” 

Stone Hotel was briefly used as a dorm during the COVID year, (2020-21 school year).  It was originally the site of Hotel Pennington that opened in spring 1909, named Interlochen Bowl Hotel after 1932, and then completely rebuilt (1945-58). By the 1958 Camp season, the entire structure was completed as it remained through 2015. To recognize the major funding for the Arts Academy from the W. Clement and Jessie V. Stone Foundation, the Interlochen Bowl Hotel was renamed and dedicated as the Stone Student Center, June 24, 1962. For clarity in signage it was designated simply “Stone Hotel” in about 2000. To account for social distancing requirements it served as overflow housing during the 2020-21 school year, and was referred to as Frida Khalo House.

Dow House was built as part of the Sasaki Plan for campus buildings and renovation, dedicated in October 2021. It is situated next to the Dow Dance Wing on Green Lake, just south of the Interlochen Bowl. The south wing of the building is Dow Hotel, used to house campus guests, visiting artists, etc. 

Rooms & Common Spaces

The residence hall rooms are designed to house two students. Rooms are furnished with beds, desks, chairs, bureau/closet space, and curtains. Some dorms are suite-style, connected by a bathroom or living space. These suites are in Mozart-Beethoven, Thor Johnson, DeRoy, and Dow. Unsuited dorms have individual bathrooms with no direct connection to another room. They are in Picasso, Hemingway, DeRoy, and McWhorter. There are also a few dorm rooms designed to house one student at a time, although most students live with a roommate. Many students choose to creatively decorate their rooms using lamps, string lights, posters, plants, rugs, etc.

Every dorm building has some sort of common space or communal living room. Most dorms have first-floor open lobbies with a front desk and second-floor lobbies which can be checked out by students. In the 2022-23 and 2023-24 school years, liberal arts instructor Leah Mosher directed a small group of students in beautifying the “upper lobbies” of Hemmingway and Picasso into spaces meant to promote mental health especially during the harsher winter months. The rooms were adorned with bean bag chairs, essential oil diffusers, noise machines, and student-made art. 

Basements 

Practice Rooms

Every dorm with the exception of DeRoy and McWhorter have student practice rooms in the basement of the building. Hemingway House has oboe and reed making rooms alongside the practice rooms. Most practice rooms are equipped with a mirror, chair(s), and music stand. Some have pianos or drum sets. A selection of Mozart-Beethoven practice rooms housed the Music Production and Engineering major prior to the construction of the music building in 2019. The dorm still contains a recording studio and some recording equipment. 

Kitchens

Most dorms except for DeRoy and McWhorter feature some kind of community kitchen, available to students at different periods throughout the history of the buildings. Largely they are equipped with microwaves and tables, stovetops and/or ovens, with some dorms having kitchen equipment like bowls or pans available for students to borrow. These kitchens allow students the opportunity to cook and bake recreationally. 

Art & Miscellaneous Information

The dorms have long been featured in the memories and art of alumni. Writing and art inspired by life and culture in the dorms is often shared at events such as gallery openings and The Red Wheelbarrow, Interlochen Creative Writing’s triquarterly in-house publication. Film and New Media students are also known to film independent projects in the dorms.

Sources

This document was composed by Bella Rotker, with information & text from the following sources:

BUILDINGS, CAMPUS ART & MISC.doc

The core of this document was the product of a summer intern, Theresa Asevedo c.2008. Given the number of buildings on the 1200-acre campus and the conflicting documentation available, her report was only partially complete when her internship ended.  The information has been corrected and enlarged to provide more accurate documentation, information about subsequent construction, the evolving functionality of older facilities, and - in a few cases - their demolition. 

IAA Student Handbook 2023-2024

Written by Interlochen Arts Academy administration for the 2023-24 school year. Accessed January 2024; some changes to the document may have been made since the writing of this story. 

Fact-checked by Noah Ma & Eileen Ganter