The buildings were eventually replaced, of course, but two beautiful campus areas were created almost immediately from the ruins and ugliness left by the fire.
Sunken Garden
Originally the site of "Old Baldwin", the Sunken Garden was created in the indention left by the building's basement. It is now a beautifully landscaped, serene and quiet place where students and campus visitors can sit out of the sun in shady gazebos or sprawl on the grass to study or relax with friends.
The Quad
Normal Pond, immediately north of the burning buildings, was drained in a futile effort to stem the blaze. As soon as the ruins cooled, the empty pond and stream bed were filled with the rubble and the area was sodded over to create "The Quad", the tree covered park in the center of campus. It is the site of numerous campus events, such as summer Commencement, as well as being a place of casual recreation and relaxation.
Photo Credits
Photos of the fire and ruins were gifts to the University
Archives from alumni:
Pearl Kasiske (1933)
Bennett I (1926) and Mary Alice (1943) Mabry
Isabelle Howell Stevens (1931)
[photographer(s) unknown]
Contemporary photos of the Sunken Garden and Quad by Tim Barcus, Campus
Photographer
Art by Mary Shuman Barnes and Archie Musick digitally scanned by Oseyi
Ikuenobe, Special Collections Student Assistant
Photo Album
Oral History Transcript
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Exhibits Gallery | Special Collections | Pickler Memorial Library
