Friday Afternoon Follies: Truly, This is the Stuff of Nightmares

The first time I went down in the steam tunnels, I was horrified. (By the way, I recently ran across some video of this excursion and it’s quite entertaining. Many thanks to my companions, both loyal readers!) I’m afraid the tunnels aren’t at all as glamorous as they sound. Dirty, dark, cobwebby, tight, full of pipes, in some places dripping with moisture–I shuddered a bit and wondered what else might be down there with us.

I didn’t expect this:Alligator in Steam tunnel March 1956

It was during Hell Week in 1956, which I believe was the last one.

Bonus: As long as we’re talking about master plans and deviations therefrom, here’s the first one:wrc01296

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10 Responses to Friday Afternoon Follies: Truly, This is the Stuff of Nightmares

  1. Can you em-biggen the Cram plan?

  2. marmer01 says:

    Pan ‘n’ zoom here: http://scholarship.rice.edu/handle/1911/63443 (click on the top link)

    • Richard A. Schafer says:

      That’s a quite different version of the plan than in Melissa’s copy. Which one is older?

      • Melissa’s is probably older. This one claims to be 1910/1911. I thought it was the same, but clearly it’s not.

      • Melissa Kean says:

        They’re two iterations of the same idea–the one the Marty linked to is the one that was actually adopted. (It’s also the one I meant to post.) There’s yet another one, even stranger, with lots of loops and circles. I’ll dig it out when I have a chance.

  3. Deborah Gronke Bennett (BSEE Hanszen 1982) says:

    I note that the Cram plan clearly shows those areas of the campus which were bought last. When is it dated?

  4. That was one lucky little alligator, because there wasn’t much to eat in the steam tunnels when I was there. Not even roaches.

  5. mjthannisch says:

    When I was growing up, that blank spot on University had cows running on it. Of course so did the spot where the Astrodome and Reliant are.

    You’re right Walter. You have to kind of wonder what he ate. I never saw any real wild life in my jaunts in the steam tunnels.

  6. Grungy says:

    There were cats using the tunnel between Allen Center and Baker Kitchen as a dining area.

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