One of America’s Historic Hotels

Built as the first young women’s dormitory on the University of Arkansas campus, Ella Carnall Hall was completed in 1906. The building was named after a distinguished Associate Professor of English and Modern Languages from 1881-84, Miss Ella Howison Carnall,  and dedicated in her memory to honor both excellence as a student and success as a role model for young women.

One of six buildings funded by the Arkansas Legislature in 1905,  Ella Carnall Hall was the most costly and featured a fusion of styles with its combination of Colonial Revival detail and Victorian architectural design. It also was strategically placed on the extreme Northeast corner of the Campus to comply with strict separation of the sexes on college campuses that was standard until the late 20th century.  

Ella Carnall Hall was a women’s dormitory through 1967 and then was home to the Phi Gamma Delta Fraternity house until 1977. It joined the National Register for Historic Places in December, 1982 and in 1991 was no longer used for academic purposes when the restoration of Old Main created more space for academics.

In the late 1990’s Carnal Hall had become a candidate for demolition but it took on a new life in 2001 when the Board of Trustees approved to turn the structure into a historic hotel and restaurant at a cost of $6.9 million.

James Lambeth was the lead architect and May Construction Company the contractor.