Zahm House

Web design, apparel design, and four wonderful years

Designed by the famous architectural firm Maginnis & Walsh and completed in 1937, Zahm House is home to 210 men who proudly refer to themselves as Zahmbies. Zahm is named for the Holy Cross priest, the Rev. John Augustine Zahm, CSC, who graduated from Notre Dame in 1871.

Zahm was one of the first residences in North Quad at Notre Dame, and since it was erected at (then) the northern end of campus, Zahm was the furthest hall from the center of campus and the majority of academic buildings. In the early days of the University, rooms were picked by students with the highest GPAs first, and Zahm's remote location made it a traditional last pick. For that reason, Zahm became home mostly to students with the lowest GPAs who maintained reputations as the more "social" students on campus. In the 1960s, the University dropped academic requirements for first housing picks, and students were henceforth assigned randomly to residence halls and before they arrived on campus their freshman year.

Zahm is well known for its tight-knit community and "open-door" tradition. Few halls have as much spirit or as deep a commitment to loyalty and brotherhood.

The brothers of Zahm always take interhall sports as seriously as the other dorms, and the frequent victories brings great pride. During the years of 1997-1999, Zahm House had the distinction of being the champion of the campus-wide broom-ball tournament for Late Night Olympics. In 1992 an undefeated Zahm team took the interhall football championship. They also won it in 2005. In 2008 Zahm's hockey team, Fear, capped an undefeated season with a championship win.

At sporting events, Zahm residents are easily identified by the signature X they make with their arms during the Celtic Chant. Legend says that a Keenan resident once invented the fist pump routine that replaced the original X done by the student body during this song, and, in protest, Zahmbies continue to hold the X up to this day.

Zahm is also known for its longstanding tradition of community service. In the school year of 2008-2009, Zahm started supporting the Robinson Community Learning Center, an after-school program for children. The profits from Zahm's Food Sales (a pizza shop in the basement) go to the RCLC. Men from the House also volunteer at the Center to provide activities for "Fun Fridays." Additionally, Zahm has a history of winning the campus-wide coat drive, called "Project Warmth."

On March 29, 2007, the Notre Dame Student Senate finally passed a resolution originally proposed by Zahm veteran Pat Knapp and championed by Zahm senator Luke Derheimer to officially recognize Zahm Hall as "Zahm House," a name applied to Zahm since 2003. March 29th is now celebrated as "Zahm Independence Day" with a re-enactment of the Revolutionary War on North Quad with water balloons, with freshmen acting as the British (administrators) and upperclassmen overwhelming them as Americans (residents of Zahm).

During the summer of 2009, Zahm House underwent a multi-million dollar renovation including much-needed new windows, bathrooms, and new basement furnishings.