The original proposal for the "unusual skyscraper dormitory" complex, designed by Dahlen Ritchey of the architectural firm of Deeter & Ritchey, was unveiled in June, 1960 and called for three towers to contain living quarters with unobstructed views for 1,868 male students. The towers were preliminarily designated as A, B, and C, with undergraduates to occupy tower A and B and graduate students tower C. The towers would rise from a three story base that included a dining room accommodating 14,000 students, serving men from the towers and women from the nearby Schenley Quadrangle residences, as well a parking garage in its bottom level. Construction was initially delayed a year due to perceived high expense, but the dormitories opened in September, 1963 at a cost of $14 million with initially 1,150 residents filling approximately two-thirds of the spaces.