Author Archives: Melissa Kean

In preparation for Rice’s formal opening in 1912, invitations were delivered to institutions of higher learning all over the world. Some of these schools sent representatives, others regretted their inability to attend but offered their best wishes and congratulations with … Continue reading →

I’m actually out of town on a ski trip–just got some sweet new cross country gear–but apparently I should have just stayed home: Many thanks to loyal reader and intrepid photographer Owlcop for this morning’s pictures of a cold, snowy … Continue reading →

I’ve been browsing through some old images this morning and noticed that this photograph was taken precisely 108 years ago: This was the state of affairs four months after the formal opening. Yikes. And it looks to have been exactly … Continue reading →

With the Woodson closed I’ve been digging around in my laptop quite a bit and I keep being surprised by what’s in there. This image of the band, dated 1927, stopped me in my tracks just now: Those uniforms were … Continue reading →

So I’m idly leafing through someone’s scrapbook, thusly: And suddenly here appears a guy, ninety-one years ago, just hanging out with his boys, relaxing with a little with a nice game of leap frog and the next thing you know … Continue reading →

I can’t remember where I first came across this 1954 photograph of Rice’s Glee club but I certainly do recall why I bothered to scan it–those wonky light fixtures instantly caught my eye. So before I thought about who is … Continue reading →

Another mystery solved, once again by a valued colleague. On December 24th I  posted this image of George and Alice Pratt Brown on Christmas Eve, 1976: I’ve looked wistfully at this photograph for many years, wishing I could see the … Continue reading →

So how about a picture of some architects trying to teach a puppy to smoke? I’ll concede that’s probably not what they’re doing but if you’ve spent any time with architecture students you know it’s not impossible either. No date … Continue reading →

It’s pretty quiet around here right now and with time on my hands I somehow found myself leafing through the 1940 Campanile, hoping for a photograph of Cohen House around the time our predecessors acquired the radio/phonograph they inaugurated at … Continue reading →

December, 1940 was a busy time at Cohen House and the Christmas dance marked the arrival of some long awaited and wonderful now-obsolete technology: I knew exactly what would happen if I googled “Farnsworth radio and phonograph.” It would turn … Continue reading →