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Middle Earth houses approximately 1,550 students in 24 halls. The names of the halls and other facilities were selected from J.R.R. Tolkien's The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings trilogy. The "MIDDLE EARTH" theme was selected in 1976 by the first residents of the community.

Middle Earth was built in three phases: * Phase I opened in 1974 with 7 halls: Hobbiton, Isengard, Lorien, Mirkwood, Misty Mountain, Rivendell, and The Shire. Brandywine Commons, and Brandywine Student Center (BSC) are also in Middle Earth. * Phase II opened in 1989-90 and it includes 13 halls: Balin, Harrowdale, Whispering Wood, Woodhall, Calmindon, Grey Havens, Aldor, Rohan, Gondolin, Snowbourn, Elrond, Shadowfax, and Quenya. Phase II also includes Pippin dining commons, the housing office and Bucklebury Library. * Phase III opened in Fall 2000 and includes 4 halls: Crickhollow, Evenstar, Oakenshield, and Valimar.

Middle Earth Before
Before

Middle Earth Before View 2
Before

Middle Earth After
After

Middle Earth Renovations

Middle Earth is one of four undergraduate housing communities on the UCI campus. This multi million dollar renovation has entailed rehab of the exteriors of seven buildings and occured over the summer in successive years. The work has also included new interior window coverings and new exterior lighting fixtures.

In summer of 2004, four phase I buildings- Hobbiton, Isengard, Lorien, and Mirkwood were 'hobbitized'. During the summer of 2005, Rivendale, Misty Mountain and The Shire followed.

Project Manager Dave Anderson is working with Darryl Brown of Middle Earth Housing to plan next summer's projects, which may include site improvements, interior upgrades, and fire sprinkler systems. Adding to the complexity of housing renovations is the tight time frame- it is absolutely critical that all work be completed in time for the students to move in for fall quarter.