You sit in these buildings all day everyday, but what do you really know about them? How old are these building? Who are these buildings named after? What did they do to get a building named after them? Why do I care? You know, the important questions that I am sure everyone is so concerned about. Okay maybe not. But if you are curious, here are some fun facts you might not know about some of the buildings your classes are in!
Ray Olpin Union building
The Union was built and named after A. Ray Olpin, who was the president of the University of Utah from 1946-1964. Olpin did a lot for this university, including tripling the enrollment from 4,000 to 12,000, as well as starting a ten-year program to build 30 buildings including the A. Ray Olpin Union building. Not only did Olpin work for this university but he also did things for this country. He actually worked on the Manhattan project that developed the first atomic bomb. Now the students of the University of Utah can enjoy a cool place to do homework in that includes a full restaurant and bowling alley. Thanks Ray!
James E. Talmage Building
The James E. Talmage building better known as the JTB (because University of Utah students are known to abbreviate all the building names on campus; my advice to all freshmen is to learn the abbreviations and learn them fast!). The JTB was also named after another University of Utah president: James E. Talmage was president of the University of Utah from 1894 to 1897; Talmage studied chemistry and geology. At Johns Hopkins in 1884 Talmage started journaling about the indigestion of hashish, which is just another name for marijuana. He noted that the ill effects of opium was well documented but the same could not be said for marijuana so, Talmage, along with two other colleagues decided to ingest small doses of marijuana in order to record the effects.
Stewart Williams Building
If you have ever had a class in the ST building, then you know just how hard it is to get to any of your other classes if they are above President’s circle, especially when you have to go uphill and only have fifteen minutes. But what you probably don’t know is that the ST building was built in 1918, and that while it was under construction, it was used as temporary housing for solders during WWI. Now the ST building houses the University’s Anthropology department.
Orson Spencer Hall
Now I know that since demolition on OSH has officially, started it’s not technically a campus building. But for the sake of nostalgia, I have decided to include it. OSH was named after Orson Spencer who was the first person to hold the title of University of Utah President. OSH was built sometime in the 1950’s and any student who has attended the University from the 1950’s to as late as spring semester of 2016 is familiar with the building. Whether it is the open architecture or the fact that OSH always felt eerily similar to high school, (I am not kidding it was like stepping into a time machine) it will surely be missed by all who encountered it.
Buildings come and buildings go, but the memories we make in them will stay with us forever. So go to class, study hard, and make those memories before it is too late.