There’s a pretty good sized collection back in the vault that consists of materials gathered by Ray Watkin Hoagland Strange ’36 about the career of her father, William Ward Watkin. I kind of knew those boxes were back there but I assumed they were full of copies of things we had elsewhere in the original. It turns out I was wrong, at least partly. There are copies to be sure, but also much material I’d never seen before. (Ray was nothing if not thorough.)
One of the surprises I encountered there was this photograph of a downtown street scene in front of the Rice Hotel:
It’s labeled “1909 or 1910” which if accurate suggests that it was taken by Watkin in the very early days of what would become his life-long association with the Rice Institute.
The only way I can think to date it is the cars.
Calling Marty Merritt!
Bonus: The campus looks just wonderful right now. It’s always well manicured but recently there’s been a lot of rain and the heat of summer hasn’t yet set in so every walk is a joyful experience of lovely lush greenery. You’ve got to enjoy it while it lasts.
