Tank Hall

Date

1896-1922 (American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions); 1922-present (College)

Location

110 East College Street

Architects/Collaborators

Forrest A. Coburn (1848-97) of Coburn, Barnum, Benes & Hubbell, Cleveland (architects)
Glenn and Copeland, Oberlin (contractors)

Style

Victorian: Queen Anne

History

Tank Hall, formerly known as Tank Home, was completed in 1897 as a home for children of missionaries of the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions. Judson Cottage, which was built in ca. 1890, and Tank Hall were located next to one another due to their intended shared use by missionaries and their families at the time of Tank Home's construction.

Tank Hall was named for Caroline L.A. Tank of Green Bay, Wisconsin, who contributed a quarter of its construction cost in memory of her husband Nils Otto Tank, a missionary in Dutch Guiana in the 1840s and the founder of a Moravian religious commune in Wisconsin. Additional funds for the construction of Tank Home were provided by members of the Oberlin community with ties to missionaries, including Sarah Frances Jewett. 

In 1922, the building was renamed Tank Hall as the College acquired it for use as a women's residence hall. It accomodated fourty four students. Men and women boarded (dined) in Tank Hall throughout its years as a women's residence hall. In about 1932, Tank Hall was temporarily closed. The building's use as a women's residence hall resumed in 1935, when it reopened as a women's dorm. 

In 1963, Tank Hall replaced the Grey Gables co-op, joining the Oberlin Student Cooperative Association (OSCA). In 1971, Tank Hall became a co-ed residence for Oberlin College. 

Today Tank houses approximately 40 students, chosen by random lottery each year. The Tank dining co-op feeds residents, plus approximately 35 dining-only members.

Sources
"350 Frosh at Oberlin," The Plain Dealer, September 14, 1935, 15. 

Oberlin College Archives, Office of the Secretary Records. 

Oberlin College Student Cooperative Association, "Our History," Accessed January 8, 2025. 

Oberlin College Student Cooperative Association, "Tank Hall," OSCA, Accessed March 18, 2025. 

"Tank", Oberlin College Resed Housing website, accessed May 27, 2015.

Revision History
This entry was revised in 2025 as part of the Historic Preservation Winter Term course.