Hidden

6/10/2016 Taylor Tucker

Written by Taylor Tucker

 
Analog clock in MEL lab.
Analog clock in MEL lab.
Analog clock in MEL lab.
The campus is full of little details and secrets, many of which beg the question, “Why?”  See how many of these you’re familiar with. 
 
In one of the labs in MEL, there is a large analog clock behind a glass panel.  MEL also has the homebuilt puzzle case, although it’s currently incognito.  
 
In Grainger, there’s an old train bell.  Unfortunately it doesn’t ring. Trust me, I’ve tried. Talbot Lab has the student Space Jet team’s scale model hanging above the stairs.  
 
You can find random hitching posts of various styles around the engineering campus.  There’s a prominent one by ECEB’s south walkway and another outside of Engineering Hall.  Engineering Hall also has a large fireplace decorated with colorful tiles in one of its upstairs conference rooms.
 
Noyes Lab has a room with a dirt floor on a sub level in the basement. There’s a famous trench dug in the floor that’s shaped like a grave. Buried under the grave room is a fallout shelter. In the basement you can also find a very obvious steam tunnel entrance and a tunnel that connects Noyes to Roger Adams lab and the Chem Annex.  
 
Loomis has a steam tunnel entrance. Lincoln Hall has a big backstage area and old dressing rooms in the basement. The Armory has its own stage. The Union has a door that leads to the north tower above the clock. Bevier Hall has a tunnel that connects to a few other south campus buildings.
 
Student-built Space Jet model, hanging in Talbot Lab.
Student-built Space Jet model, hanging in Talbot Lab.
Student-built Space Jet model, hanging in Talbot Lab.
There are also features of campus that deserve a second glance. Outside of Krannert Art Museum is a small garden with benches shaped like feet. Next to the Alice Campbell Alumni center there’s a big fountain. It’s pretty exciting when they finally turn the fountain on.
 
There’s a nice little gazebo overlooking the pond by Japan House. Actor and alum Nick Offerman built the gazebo in the fall of 2013 in honor of his mentor, Professor Emeritus Shozo Sato.
 
The Morrow Plots (just south of the observatory) are the oldest continuous agricultural research fields in the United States, having been established in 1876.
 
The south quad bell tower has been known to play songs randomly, sometimes at night. The south quad is also home to the oldest structure on campus, a white farmhouse called Mumford House that was built by the university in 1870.
 
Photos by Taylor Tucker.
This hitching post outside Engineering Hall is one of several around campus.
This hitching post outside Engineering Hall is one of several around campus.
This hitching post outside Engineering Hall is one of several around campus.

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This story was published June 10, 2016.