OT: Cool Old Picture of Campus

[Box and Won]

From 1947.

[ChaifetzRocker88]

That is neat!!! I'd love to see a book published of all the old views of campus.

[MusicCityBilliken]

That is neat!!! I'd love to see a book published of all the old views of campus.

A the quonset huts, used to accomodate the WWII veterans on the GI bill.

Back when I was at SLU in the early '70s, I had a 150th Anniversary album that had lots of old pictures of the SLU campus. Even the old campus (back in the 1800's) when the campus was located on 9th and Washington (site of the AG Edwards Dome). It always amazes me how things on campus improve each time I come back. A tribute to Father Bondi.

[Box and Won]

The building in this picture that really interests me is the huge building on the west side of Grand, close to Laclede. I can't tell if it was an old office building, an apartment building or what.

Does anyone know what it was? It's actually kind of collegiate-looking - too bad it's not still standing.

[MusicCityBilliken]

The building in this picture that really interests me is the huge building on the west side of Grand, close to Laclede. I can't tell if it was an old office building, an apartment building or what.

Does anyone know what it was? It's actually kind of collegiate-looking - too bad it's not still standing.

Are you talking about Sodality Hall? Its the 4 story building on Grand. That used to house the Communication Department. The KBIL radio station was on the top floor. Spent many of late nights broadcasting with friends in that place

[Box and Won]

Are you talking about Sodality Hall? Its the 4 story building on Grand. That used to house the Communication Department. The KBIL radio station was on the top floor. Spent many of late nights broadcasting with friends in that place

I think I would have rather had my classes there than in Xavier Hall!

[MusicCityBilliken]

I think I would have rather had my classes there than in Xavier Hall!

When I was at SLU that was a all-girls HS.

[bonwich]

Sodality was one of the many casualties of the long-time Jesuit aversion to maintaining old buildings -- and one of the many lost causes preservationists pursued from the mid-70s through to today. Also note how DeSmet Hall (behind DuBourg) matches DuBourg and forms a nice quadrangle. That was another one that was torn down under the theory that it was too expensive to restore.

Also RIP in that photo: the Resurrectionists Residence, just to the south of Davis Shaugnessy. Another really cool old building.

Blessings on Father Biondi for the restoration he did on DuBourg.

[bills10]

That Desmet Building looks at least 7,000,000 times cooler than the ugly library that we have now. I am so sad that that is torn down! I honestly cant believe that the library was seen as an improvement at that spot

[bonwich]

That Desmet Building looks at least 7,000,000 times cooler than the ugly library that we have now. I am so sad that that is torn down! I honestly cant believe that the library was seen as an improvement at that spot

DeSmet, in fact, was torn down after the library was built.

[bills10]

really? Is it the Louis Annex that is where that building was?

[bonwich]

I can't find any consistent source material. Pius was built in 1958; DeSmet was demolished in 1977. The Lewis Annex seems to have been built in the mid-80s, but I can't find an exact date -- and I'm pretty sure the demolition of DeSmet was independent of building something new. (It was falling down due to an almost total lack of maintenance in the '60s and '70s.)

[GoBills]

Great photo. Thanks for sharing. I go way back, but not that far. The campus looks great and I love making the walk through the heart of campus to games at the Chaifetz. There is a lot to be proud of.

[Taj79]

The oh-great-bonowich is right as he always is. DeSmet and Sodality were both there my freshman year of 1975-76. I recall my first college class was in Sodality with the great Larry Barecevich (sp?) doing the Introduction to Communications in Sodality. DeSmet held my advisor and a lot of the collegiate offices associated with the business part of college. As the purveyors of Spring Fever, we Phi Kaps were somewhat happy to see a band shell built on the old DeSmet lot in 1977. In hindsight, that was probably not a good thing. But it beat the roll-up stages we had out in front of Griesedieck for those two weekends in April so what did we know.

DeSmet was five stories high with no elevator that I remember and being a freshman, my advisor was on the top floor. Not having to climb those steps was more important to me then than saving the dilapidated old antique. Sodality was a wreck as far as I remember, literally falling down around us even during classes. I don't recall when that went, but I do not recall ever having any more classes in that building whatsoever. Sophomore year I do remember playing basketball in the gym in the back part of the building on the second or third floor of Xavier Hall --- which was a high school the year prior and then bought by SLU where they then moved the Communications Department. Larry and Avis and a really funky old nun who's name escapes me right now all migrated down there. Communications and Philosophy I remember going in there. Perception --- we were all thankful to get the hell out of Sodality, even if it was an old high school. No Doisey's or Chaifetz's or remodeled Busch Centers for us. Our "culture" was not statues and fountains, but rather the continuation of graffeti and frat paintings on the closed end of West Pine in front of "the Dieck" --- the largest Jesuit erection west of the Mississippi as I recall! Call me proud!

Other builidngs I recall that are not there now include that high rise on what was on the west side of Spring Avenue between West Pine and Lindell ----- an old folks home maybe? The old warehouse that stood on the SW corner of Laclede and Grand --- where members of Tom Dix' baseball team would go and take batting practice in self-erected cages on the second or third floor during Febraury and March. Saw some guys playing touch football there during homecoming weekend. My old job came out of the Media Center in the basement of an old warehouse just west of that -- now the site of that multi-storied parking garage. All the row homes along Spring from Fusz to Friday's/Clark's bar. Some old storefront on the east side of Spring that housed Special Academic Programs, or Silly-Ass People as my co-worker James called them (i think these folks had a lot to do with Craig Upchurch NOT going to SLU). And old Lewis Hall --- which is still there but I guess not a part of the university any more? When did that happen? Also, the old Ramada Inn that is now Reinhardt Hall south on Grand. The old high rise apratments ... Grand Forest, I believe ... now dorms as I understand it. And of course, the biggest blight, LacledeTown.

This old picture gives me cause to revisit the question we all asked ourselves at homecoming ---- if SLU looks like this now, what the hell were we thinking 30 or so years ago when we "elected" to come there. Things --- and SLU ----- have continued to come a long way, baybee.

[RB2.0]

It really is a tribue to Biondi at how far the campus has come. Its really beautiful and the improvement is continual. And my favorite part, it blows Marquette's campus out of the water. There is really no comparison. In truth, not many urban campuses can compete with SLU's in terms of beauty.

forgive me while a wipe a tear away.

[Scrivener]

I still have a "piece of DeSmet" somewhere in my basement -- a chip of ancient red brick that one of my UNews confreres lifted from the demo site.

Like Taj, I wasn't really sad to see DeSmet or Sodality go, back in the 70s. But I have to admit, they look kinda cool and "collegiate" in this photo from the 40s.

One other bit of trivia: You can see Cupples House in the photo. I was told once upon a time that old man Cupples became a major donor to Washington University... because he was ticked at SLU for building DuBourg Hall, and blocking the view from his mansion. Don't know if that's true...but it's a great story!

[Taj79]

Another fave of mine ---- I don't know who might recall it ---- I am sure bonowich and Scrive will --- but there was an April Fool's edition of the UNews we usd to do ---- ads for Needless Markup and Wine-O-Five, Stipo signing on to be an actual Jesuit instead of a basketball player, and so on. One of the greatest photos was of a squirrel, whose neck was crushed under the falling window pane when DeSmet was being torn down. Poor little bastard, was sitting on the sill, minding his own business, when, WHAM!!1 Down comes the window pane trapping his head on the inside and the rest of his body on the outside with the crush line across the neck. Don't know which one of out photos got that but it was pretty recent as to the exact time of death. Squirrel was still intact and almost breathing. Well --- except for the crushed neck part! THAT was my all-time classic UNews photo for those four years. I think they even named the squirrel "Lucky" in the caption, didn't they? That John Rowan and Steve DeBellis.

[bonwich]

Actually, that was a parody of my current employer published during the newspaper strike of 1978. It was called the St. Louis Post-Dispute. I still have one or two in my basement somewhere.

For those of you on the board who are getting up there in years, the lead headline was "Conway Quits; Goins Named." And you guys think we have political scandals now -- Blago had nothin' on ol' Bennie!

[Adman]

Taj,

Since you asked, the spelling of Larry's last name is Baricevic. Very good guy, passed away 8-10 years ago. His son John is still in town and runs his own recording studio/production company.

The nun you mentioned was sister Alene. Great gal, taught a public speaking course I took. Not sure if she's still among us.

Thanks for sharing some great memories.

[bonwich]

Taj,

Since you asked, the spelling of Larry's last name is Baricevic. Very good guy, passed away 8-10 years ago. His son John is still in town and runs his own recording studio/production company.

The nun you mentioned was sister Alene. Great gal, taught a public speaking course I took. Not sure if she's still among us.

Thanks for sharing some great memories.

Sister Alene (Faul, SSND) passed away in 2001 or 2002. Her In Memoriam is in the Spring 2002 Universitas.

[Taj79]

I enjoyed the good sister as much as I enjoyed Larry and Avis. I recall her taking our class, don't know what it was at the time, creative writing maybe, and moving it to a night meeting, directing us to meet at Cupples House, adn then locking us in the basement during some African art exhibit. We wre told to quietly sit around the darkened space with these African artifacts and after some specified amount of time, we were given the cue to start writing while sitting there. As kooky as that may have sounded, I recall writing a damn good piece. I think I still managed to score a C maybe even a C+ but that was one of my best pieces ever.

She was a trip. Unconventional and different but good for that and the experience. Sorry to hear that the old gang has passed on. Not surprised and not depressed but recognizing reality .....