View from the Top of the Stadium

This is what I meant to write about yesterday! Last Thursday I had some business over in the football stadium and when it was done I decided to climb all the way up to the top. I’m not sure I would recommend this–it’s uncomfortably, even nauseatingly, steep, a sensation that’s probably enhanced when it’s empty. I had to stare intently at my feet in order to make it up and then down. There are also a lot of pigeons up there. That’s the down side.

On the other hand, the views from up there can take your breath away. They are stunning in and of themselves, but they also gave me an almost visceral shock at the transformed landscape on and around the Rice campus. It’s easier to miss it on the ground, where the changes are slowly assimilated into the patterns of our daily rounds. But up in the air it’s all different, especially when it’s often 1916 inside your head. Just as a reminder, here’s a picture that was taken from the top of the stadium in early 1951:

And here’s one taken from roughly the same spot last week. You can’t even really see the buildings that are so prominent in the earlier shot.

The growth of the Med Center is particularly startling. Here’s one more set of contrasts. This first one is looking southeast from the stadium and the second is looking southwest from the old Physics Building, both towards the dorms. But it’s obviously the background that interests me.

I might put up some more of these pictures later–there are quite a few interesting things in them. And just for fun, here’s a bonus photo. This one blew my mind.