DU In Winter

We had a fairly sizable snowstorm here in Denver this past Monday.  After predicting just 1 to 2 inches, downtown Denver received 7 inches of snow and parts of the metro area received much more.  The weather people were all busy explaining how they had missed the true size of the storm, but it was no matter to me. I had to stay home and wait for the heating guys to show up to look at my units   However, after they left, since the sun had come out, I decided to take a late afternoon walk through the University of Denver campus.  I passed through the Driscoll Center, where I worked as the Finance Manager of the DU Bookstore for 30  years, and came out near the center of campus, as seen in the photograph on the left. The building on the right, by the way,  is the Mary Reed Building.  This is where the chancellor and vice chancellors have their offices.  Also, former governor Richard Lamm had his office in the tower.  I wonder if he is still in there?

It was kind of nice, being back on the campus and walking around the place where I had spent so many years. There weren't too many people out and about - although the sun was shining, it was pretty damn cold out, and about to get much colder, but certainly okay for a short walk.  The photograph on the right shows University Hall (the one with the cupola), the oldest building on campus, originally called Old Main.  I believe it was built in 1893, and it now houses administrative offices.  The interior stairways very pretty impressive, and I once took some artistic black and white photos of them, but the rest of the building has been completely remodeled into modern offices and classrooms.  A concession to the needs of the present, I guess, but still a shame.

And the photograph on the left shows the remaining tower of Buchtel Chapel, which burned down back in (I think) 1983, the year before I started working at the DU Bookstore.  It was evidently quite an impressive structure, and a great loss to the campus. The reason for the fire has never been determined.  There were rumors when I first started at DU that it was arson, but over the years the subject has been forgotten.  On the left side of the photo is part of the Anderson Academic Commons.  This is what they now call what was once Penrose Library. It is a modern building and to me quite ugly.  It was remodeled a few years ago, at which time it became an "academic commons," and no longer a library.  DU administers planned to eliminate most of the books, but when the faculty heard about this, they raised a ruckus and DU decided to put back half of the books it originally contained before the remodel. Very generous of them, don't you think?  Am I being snarky, or what?