Many, many thanks to everyone who helped figure these out. The basketball photo was clearly taken on the loop side of Hanszen. This is a satisfying answer, as West Hall was the closest dorm to the athletic facilities. Here’s the spot today:
The light fixture is much uglier, they’ve fancied up the small windows at the bottom of the building and we’ve got mature vegetation, but it’s pretty obviously the same place.
We also had some discussion in the comments about exactly how many buildings were on campus in 1920. It’s seven. Here’s an aerial that was taken in 1921 and you can see all of them except the field house, which is just out of range to the top left. If you zoom in on it you can sort of almost make out the football field on the far side of the trees if you squint hard and use your imagination.
I’m slowly working my way through all the comments about the other aerial shot from the mid-90s. Everyone’s observations are proving extremely valuable to me beyond the issue at hand, significantly adding to my store of knowledge about the more recent history of Rice’s physical plant. I really appreciate the help.
Bonus: Willie ate a bland diet while he was alive but he was excited about all the dining choices that are now available in the RMC. As a die-hard capitalist he always enjoys seeing an entrepreneur fill a market niche.
