And then I wrote...

by Dick Schilling, "Editor Emeritus"

... that an article in the summer issue of lowaNow, the publication which goes out to The University of Iowa alumni and friends, deals with the destruction of the Quadrangle dormitory, or residence hall, as it is now called.

I had read of those plans elsewhere and it does not surprise me, because it was outdated as far as modern living quarters are concerned.

It was built in 1919-1920, and was first used as a barracks for military recruits after WWI. It exceeded military requirements because the university hoped to later use it as a dorm for students. That lasted until WWII, when the Navy then rented it for cadets in training. Among them: Nile Kinnick, Heisman football trophy winner, and astronaut John Glenn.

It was my home on campus for a year and a half... or two years, as far as the university knew. Each room was for two students, and had a telephone and wash basin and small closet. There were two single beds and two small desks. A bathroom/shower room served several rooms. If there was a resident assistant, I never noticed.

But it was the cheapest the university offered. Other residences included meals in fees. We were on our own. There was a large cafeteria on the lower level. The food was good but plain. We ate there often. If not really hungry, there was a short order grill on first floor, near the mail boxes and front door. Members of the public could eat at either, and on game days, it was always crowded, because it was across the street from the fieldhouse and the nearest source of food to the football stadium.

A large lounge offered chairs and tables, and a TV set, still new in those days. We watched the Army-McCarthy hearings.

Freshmen athletes were not eligible for varsity teams, so they lived in the Quad, too, because it was handy. And we got to know them.

And we could have a locker in the basement of the fieldhouse for required physical education courses and ROTC. Even after moving off campus, I kept my locker there. The indoor pool was down a tunnel, and we could use the north gym’s exercise equipment whenever a team was not using it.

My best friend, a Navy vet, lived there too, but was itching to move out, and could, because of his status. So, he found a third floor garret at 112 E. Bloomington which was even cheaper, and handier to main campus. I was not allowed to live off campus as a sophomore, non veteran, but agreed to split the $25 a month rent with him for the second semester of my sophomore year, and really lived there, although still listed as residing in the Quad.

We stayed there winters and summers until graduation.

But still walked through the Quad enroute to athletic events.