Monday, May 4, 2015

A Snapshot of the Past

I found this awesome old map of the U the other day, and I wanted to include it in this blog because I feel like it's a great conclusion to this semester.

It's amazing how much less there used to be.  Also, I have been utterly fascinated with the old dorms at the U.  I keep hearing about them from my parents and other people who went to the U when it still looked like this.  I have walked though the area where the Austin dorms used to be quite frequently.  There are odd patches of sidewalk that don't connect to anything, and I always wondered why they were there.  Then I found out about the old dorms, and to see a picture and how much it's changed over the years really helps me remember that the campus is a living organism.  Not everything that occurs here is growth; sometimes things are removed.  That is a comforting notion to me, because I feel like the campus has only grown in all the time I've known it, and eventually, there won't be enough space.

Also, it blows my mind how sparse upper campus looks.  It's probably because they didn't draw in Fort Douglas in detail, but still.  It seems like there is so much more up there now.  Also, the Tanner dance building by Mario Cappecchi brings back so many memories for me.  I used to watch my best friend's dance performances there when I was in elementary school.  I had forgotten that they tore it down.

Reviewing a map like this is precious for me.  It helps me remember awesome things about my past and imagine the past as it was for other people.  If you get a chance, I'd always recommend looking at a snapshot of the past.