I’ve always wondered (in a non-snarky way, honestly) what they were thinking when they built the post-WWII science buildings. To me they look and feel like motels, with all those straight skinny lines and corridors and staircases along the outside of the buildings and more or less open to the elements:
The other day I found some photos from the Houston Post archives that help me understand it better. Here is one of the new buildings at the University of St. Thomas, in an image dated September 10, 1958:
And dated September 12, 1958, the new Cullinan Wing at the MFAH, right across the street from Rice:
In this context the Biology and Geology buildings at Rice, which were under construction at this exact moment, make much more sense.
Bonus: The whole place gets power washed for commencement.
