The dedication of Howard Hall was celebrated on 19 February 1928 with a student assembly, speeches, swim-races, dinner and dancing, basketball and orchestral entertainment: the several and wildly different activities all hosted in Howard Hall to showcase the diversity of design and purpose for the new building. The cornerstone was laid previously on Homecoming Game Day, 20 November 1927. That allows a four-month construction for a building serving 90 years of UP campus life.
And Howard Hall rendered much service through the years from Commencement Ceremonies to Academic Convocations, to student-centered activities from fund-raisers (talent shows, boxing, wrestling, dances), theater & drama production, to athletic competition hosting Conference Games and intramural sports. It was also the student-union, with a commuter-student lunch cafeteria located in Howard, as also the offices of Student Government, The Beacon, The Log, and KDUP through the years.
As an athletic facility, Howard Hall survived Fire & Flood, Ice & Earthquake, each time repaired and reoccupied as The Home of the Pilots whether cheering basketball, chilling between classes, or running literal treadmills. For nearly a century, the intersection of campus life.
(Slide show of photos from the University Archives. Position cursor on each photo to view the caption.)
The metal time capsule box recovered from the Howard Hall cornerstone has been displayed in The Clark Library Gallery in conjunction with the “Remembering Howard Hall” photo exhibit.
From the Beacon
http://www.upbeacon.com/article/2017/04/goodbye-to-howard-hall
More about Howard Hall on the Museum blog:
Howard Hall Fire: https://sites.up.edu/museum/march-19-1949-howard-hall-fire/
First Cove: https://sites.up.edu/museum/lunch-room-to-night-spot/
Basketball in Howard Hall: https://sites.up.edu/museum/hearty-congrats/
Nelson Rockefeller Campaign visit: https://sites.up.edu/museum/campaign-trail-nelson-rockefeller-1964/
John F. Kennedy Campaign visit: https://sites.up.edu/museum/campaign-trail-john-f-kennedy-1960/
Howard Hall Swimming Pool: https://sites.up.edu/museum/amateur-athletics-swimming/
Trampoline in Howard Hall: https://sites.up.edu/museum/amateur-athletics-trampoline/
Weight Room: https://sites.up.edu/museum/amateur-athletics-weightlifting/
Boxing: https://sites.up.edu/museum/amateur-athletics-boxing/
Fencing: https://sites.up.edu/museum/fencing/
I remember sharing an office in Howard Hall’s basement with my colleague, Joe Pascarelli. There was a concrete wall right next to the weight room. We were on the other side of that wall. I remember taking a phone call once with the person on the other end of the line inquiring about my health because the caller had heard the vocalizing from the people in the weight room through the concrete wall next door.
Thanks, Carolyn. Good memories.