Cathy...thanks you for the awesome info....very interesting!
DQ -well I guess we missed eachother...early 80's I was in Springfield, a student at STCC (and took French). I later went to MCC (A.S) then transferred to UCONN in 1993 (did take Spanish...I had a great TA).
The office I worked in was in the basement of Jorgenson (though not at the time Gord performed there) and we were relocated to one of the vacant stacks of the old library in Wilbur Cross. Some of the stacks had been used to store records...and the 1st stacks was being used by the Natural History Museum. I had to clean 20 years worth of dirt off the shelves before we could move in.
Had everything very nice and in good working order and then renovations started on stacks above us. We had something dripping down from above...the chemical they were using to remove aspestos
. That's how we found out we were going to get kicked out of there and have to relocate again (down to Horsebarn Hill Rd.).
Before we vacated the building...I contacted the Daily Campus and others to come and take pictures/document the graffiti while there was still time. We really enjoyed reading all of it -including some that 'documented' the closing of the library!! Nobody ever came and since I had to pack and organize the move (along with taking classes and working another job) -I simply didn't have time to do this!!
I almost got hit by some of the debris falling off the facade of the "new library". What a terrible thing, the entire project...that the construction didn't account for the weight of the shelving/books!! The books had actually become cocked on the shelves!!! It's been said that with the $$$ it cost to remediate the problems...could have built a whole new library!!
If you have a chance...be sure to check out the interior of the Wilbur Cross. It's all ultra-modern...very nice!!! Also...if you remember the "apple building" -there's something new and special in there that is a "must see". The Student Center in getting revamped too. The UCONN dairy bar has been renovated and they're now producing cheese there.
I hated having classes in Arjona -well all the classroom/buildings were much the same. Mostly, I "lived" in Beech Hall.
There's supposed to be a new Music/Arts building. I went to the Architect's competition for this (Frank Gehry's design won) back in 2003 or 04. Nothing has been started yet.
The UCONN 2000 is the one good thing that, that criminal Guv. Rowland did. Still, there have been many, many problems that have arose due to faulty construction, etc.
Anyway - I knew the area was in for a drastic change when the Sugar Shack closed
. No more University Music Store either.
Pam