The House also owns a full size microwave oven. There is no front desk. There is a 20-minute walk to campus from the dormitory, which is a mixed blessing. Instead of having proximity to campus, the students here have great access to the stores on 53rd Street, especially Mr. G's Finer Foods, Harold's Chicken Shack, Emma G's Coffeehouse, Jacob's Bagels, Dunkin' Donuts and the Video Connection. Also, some students find the time it takes to walk or bike in useful because they know that during that time they do not feel guilty about not studying or working.
Shuttle buses go between the dormitory and campus every evening.
The fact that Max Mason is not on campus and has no front desk, adds to the adultlike atmosphere that some students seek or find that they like. During the year there are group outings to restaurants, entertainment, cultural events and professional sports games, and participation in campus events such as intramural sports and a yearly scavenger hunt. 1215, to replace Greenwood Hall which was too costly to renovate. A few years later residents voted to change the name to Max Mason House to honor of the fourth president of the University of Chicago. Max Mason was a professor of physics at the University of Wisconsin when, in 1925, he became the first president of the University of Chicago to come from outside the faculty.