History

Blackstone houses residents in half-double apartments (single bedrooms, shared bathroom and kitchen). It has a grand piano and fireplace in the main lounge, a TV lounge, a 6th floor Solarium and a computer lab and laundry room. A ten-minute walk from the main campus quadrangles; a short walk from popular shops, bookstores, and restaurants on 57th Street.

Culture

The History Channel's Secrets of Archaeology speculates that Blackstone may once have been an all-women's dorm, but years ago one anonymous visitor seeking shelter from the frigid winter cold claimed it used to be a hotel. The latter theory is called into question by the University seal carved into the concrete above the fireplace, which suggests that the structure was a University building when originally constructed. The building's façade features a saintly academician above the door, shadowed by the figures of a snail, a fish, a squirrel, and a monkey. Art historians suggest that these images represent patience, creativity, resourcefulness, and a love for bananas, respectively. Certainly, each of these traits is an appropriate descriptor for Blackstone's present student community.