For 56 years, Browning Hall stood steady, providing students with a place to live on their own and to forge everlasting friendships. Now, Browning Hall is gone—and all that remains of it are memories.

The Alumni Council at the University of Tennessee at Martin hosted a limited sale for bricks from both Browning Hall and the recently demolished Grove Apartments from Sept. 28 through Nov. 4, 2026.

Only a wheelbarrow of bricks from Browning Hall were available to purchase. However, each person who purchased a brick contributed $18 toward the UTM Beautification Fund, which is used to buy greenery for campus, maintain the quad area and to supply any costs for new entryways.

Browning Hall, originally named G-H Dormitory, was built in 1970 and was designed to house 468 students. In honor of former Tennessee Governor Gordon Browning, the university eventually renamed the dorm to Browning Hall in 1990.

The dorm housed thousands of students over multiple decades and allowed students to form their own community away from home.

Current UT Martin sophomore Disaya Suttle lived at Browning Hall during her freshman year, the last year that Browning housed students. When Suttle discovered that Browning was going to be demolished, she was disappointed. It had been her first college home and a regular hang-out spot for her and her friends.

“Every time I drive [past the site]…I’d be like, ‘Big B is gone,’” Suttle said.

Browning provided her with the opportunity to make new friends with her suitemates and with her Resident Assistant, Ava King. Suttle described Browning as a place where people respected each other.

“[Browning Hall was] a place where my friends…[felt] comfortable coming over,” Suttle said.

One of her favorite memories at the dorm was when she and her friends utilized hammocks in the inner circle between Browning Hall and Ellington Hall and talked with each other beneath the stars.

“That was amazing,” Suttle said.

Looking back at her experience at Browning, Suttle says living there with others taught her the value of community.

“When you have community, you can get through anything,” Suttle said. “Even though Browning came with some flaws, I think having people around me [kept] me grounded.”

Although Earl Wright wasn’t a resident at Browning Hall, he was on campus when it was constructed in 1970. Wright graduated from UT Martin in 1970 with his bachelor’s degree in agricultural education and again in 1973 with his master’s degree in education.

Wright became the housing director at UT Martin in 1978 and remained in the position until 2016. He worked at the university for a total of 46 years, including his past positions as hall director and assistant director.

While studying at UTM, Wright remembers paying only $45 each quarter for his dorm room at Freeman Hall, which was demolished in 1973; at the time, the university had a three-quarter system rather than a two-semester system.

Wright remembers what Browning Hall was like the day it first opened.

“When we first opened Browning, we had an overflow of students. Folks much higher than the director of housing worked with the contractor to let us have the first floor on the north end that was G1,” Wright said. “Back then, hotels were in short supply.”

Wright also recalls a memory from Browning during a particularly heavy winter.

“I remember we had a 13-inch snow one time, and students got out there and built snow structures,” Wright said.

Overall, Wright’s favorite aspect of Browning was its large green space for student recreation.

“You could have one [game] on one end of the lawn and the other [game] on the other end at the same time,” Wright said.

Despite the great friendships and memories, Wright says Browning Hall needed to be demolished and replaced with a newer dormitory.

“A concept of two people on each side of a bathroom had passed,” Wright said.

The current housing director, Ryan Martin, has had a similar experience to Earl Wright.

Ryan Martin also came to UT Martin for his bachelor’s and master’s degrees and has lived in the city of Martin ever since his freshman year in 1998. He has worked at the university for almost 20 years as assistant director of residence life and housing and, since assuming the position in 2022, as housing director.

Within the housing department, he and his team had considered renovating the existing Browning Hall but ultimately decided against it due to the cost.

“We looked at renovating [Browning Hall] and trying to save it, but that was going to be close to what it would cost to build a new building,” Martin said. “We kind of ended up having to make the decision to move towards a more modern direction.”

When Martin first attended UT Martin, he had many friends who lived at Browning. He also met his wife Rachel there.

“I met her when she was living over at Browning Hall,” Martin said. “Lots of memories and connections were formed [there].”

Martin is also going to miss the open space that Browning offered students, especially the inner courtyard that was in between Ellington Hall and Browning Hall.

“I’m going to miss the Browning-Ellington circle as it existed. That was just a fun venue spot to play volleyball and have cookouts,” Martin said.

Similar to Wright, Martin is also ready to let Browning Hall go and welcome a new chapter in the dorm life at UT Martin.

The new dorm building, whose name is currently undetermined, will be constructed and ready to house students by Fall 2028. It will be intended for first-year students and will have a new pod dorm layout with multiple bedrooms, a kitchen, a living area and a bathroom.

It is time to say goodbye to Browning Hall once and for all and to welcome a new era of dorm life with this new dormitory.

“Browning Hall was a great building, and it had its great times,” Martin said. “We miss it, but ready to see what we can do next.”