I noticed this photo in Carl Knapp’s scrapbook (see also here) quite a while ago but it wasn’t until the other day that I understood what I was looking at.
It was taken in June, 1916 and what they’re peering at so intently is the first Campanile. (I can’t resist pointing out the screen door behind the guys sitting on the step. Remember this?)
Zoom in to see what the Thresher had to say about it. It sounds like there was a bit of a good natured rivalry been the two staffs:
Bonus: What the heck, just for fun here are some of the ads from the June 12, 1916 issue of the Thresher, the last before graduation.
Extra Bonus:
I see that this Sakowitz ad predates the ” hover women ” lampooned in one Thresher during my time at Rice. In this drawing she has shoes on.
I certainly hope that “the age-old pun on our name” (rather humorous for 1916) refers to “The Trasher”. It would be good if that was a long tradition.
Very neat, and thanks for the adds.
Thanks Spiff, I needed that.
Aside from cringing at my own writing, that was a fabulous Trasher.
Hoverwomen: http://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth245368/m1/5/
After making an excursion to the Mech Building and Abercrombie last Friday (nothing!), and today after consulting (and touring campus) with a friend who has quite extensive knowledge of Rice buildings, we concluded that 1) the reflections in the window (particularly the spires that seemed similar to those atop Herzstein) were the key to finding the window, and 2) the photo must have been taken a few stories high for no vegetation to be visible.
As I was returning to my office, I had an inspiration. I remembered that the woman who hired me (Paula Sanders) used to have an office on the 5th floor of Fondren Library, and I remembered those smooth white doors. So I zoomed up to the 5th floor, found a door labeled “STAIR D”, right next to the Women’s restroom – and bingo! The interior color of the window strips are an off-white color, but the outer strips are painted brown. The two blind string pulls seen on either side of the photo are both visible (as well as the blinds) from the interior of the stair area. From the photo, I already noticed the distinct patterns of the window panels: a few have a diamond shape, but the majority have a honeycomb shape. These panel patterns matched up perfectly in reverse! I didn’t know how to get on the roof so I could verify the reflections in the windows and the identifying marks on the outer brick, but I’m pretty sure it’s the right spot.
Let me know, Melissa!! 🙂
That is absolutely correct! I was standing on the roof of the library, as Keith Cooper’s daughter can attest.