Exploring the evolution of communities in residence life settings on American college and university campuses yields a framework for considering community in contemporary residential environments. Beamer's (1974) four notions about community (group living, personal identity, values system, and developmental socialization) inform the inquiry about how community is physically and emotionally fostered for residential students. After considering contemporary examples of how Beamer's notions are present today, we find that they are still relevant, albeit expanded in scope.