After many attempts to find an independent house, the Spanish department and the University coordinators secured a building for use as La Casa Hisp nica. In the Fall of 1996, twenty-three students moved into the former Snowden Apartment complex on Jefferson Park Avenue. In November 1997, the house was dedicated by the Venezuelan Ambassador as La Casa Bol var, in honor of Fernando Bol var, the nephew and adopted son of Simon Bol var, who attended the University of Virginia in 1827. Mission Immersion offers the best possible means of mastering a language and fosters a better understanding of the target language in its cultural context. La Casa Bol var, at the University of Virginia strives to unite the Spanish language and the cultures surrounding it in a living experience.
Residents come home to speak and hear Spanish.
Common areas in La Casa Bol var give residents the chance to chat casually, while nightly dinners provide for a more structured gathering. Location Located at 1408 Jefferson Park Avenue, between Elson Student Health Center and the French House, La Casa Bol var provides easy access to the Department of Spanish, Italian and Portuguese in nearby Wilson Hall, as well as to the Corner. It houses up to 23 students under the supervision of a resident coordinator in 8 single and 8 double rooms. One of the rooms is ADA accessible. The house has satellite reception and receives as many as 15 channels in Spanish including MTV, CBS, Discovery and others.