This surprised me. It doesn’t look all that old (’80s? ’70s?):
But look how different it is today:
Bonus: What the heck, just for fun let’s make it three views of the front of the RMC. This one looks to have been taken not long after it opened.
Extra Bonus: Speaking of opening day, here’s the move in. I don’t recognize either guy or the piece of furniture.
Looks like a standard black filing cabinet.
It was definitely there in the late ’60s; I remember attending at least one wedding there, and we (Fondren staff) often walked over to Willie’s for lunch. The basement of the bookstore was one of my favorite places to hang out.
One thing I always enjoyed about the RMC and its landscaping is that the trees in the courtyard and behind the Chapel were part of the original tree plantings when the campus was developed. You can see them rising up over the offices in the older photos. The way they fit into the original landscape plan can be seen in the aerial photo in the post “Trees, or Lack Thereof”. And I proposed to my wife Linda under the one closest to the bell tower.
Nice red filter work on the one taken after opening. The trees look really nice, too.
Dating your first shot, the key element is the amount of bicycle parking by the then-front door. The extra parking was not there in 1979, but I think it appeared after I graduated in 1982. I think I see the original block of 6(?) black units that were flat steel with two projecting flat arms, that I parked in many a time while working at KTRU in the basement. The additional parking (to the left) might be a silver “toaster” rack.
Deborah, that is absolutely brilliant. I would have guessed that it was impossible to date that picture. I am filled with glee!