a.k.a. why our dorm has always been finer than the others
Farley Hall was built in 1942 and was named for Father John "Pop" Farley. Pop Farley, an ND alumnus himself, served as the rector of Corby, Walsh, and Sorin Halls. The dorm was originally constructed as a men's dorm for 199 male students. The affectionate nickname for him has its roots in his endearing habit of calling the residents of his then-all-male dorms "my boys". Because of the family-like atmosphere he created (it is said that Pop Farley never missed an event in which one of his residents participated), the boys began to call him "Pop". The name stuck until his death in 1939. Farley Hall was the first dorm constructed after WWII as a result of an increased need for student housing. When the dorm was built and named in his honor, Father Ted Hesburgh served as the first rector. In his annual talk during Pop Farley week in 2007, Father Hesburgh fondly recalled his first move-in day as rector when 330 freshmen boys moved in to Farley, which today comfortably houses 245 girls. A piece of Notre Dame history still lives in Farley Hall: the desk that Father Hesburgh used during his term as rector still sits in the rector's apartment.
The ladies of Farley hold some legacy on this campus as well! Along with Breen-Phillips Hall (our jolly neighbors to the south), Badin Hall, and Walsh Hall, Farley was one of the first halls to become a women's dorm when Notre Dame became co-ed in 1973.
