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Alumni Way
Alumni Way was a path on the east side of campus that linked the athletic
fields with the rest of campus. Built in memory of Hamline alumni,
it had two cement pillars that marked the entrance. The Holt Tennis
Courts are now in its place, with a cement marker imprinted with “Alumni
Way” to mark its former location.
Carnegie Library
Hamline University’s first library was built when a pledge of
$30,000 was received from Andrew Carnegie. The architect of the project
was Clarence H. Johnston of Saint Paul. Construction began in the fall
of 1906 with a corner-laying ceremony on May 13, 1907 that included
then governor John A. Johnson as a speaker.
An addition to the library was constructed in 1937. In 1972 the Paul
H. Giddens Learning Center was built to include the Carnegie Library.
The old entrance is now showcased within the building as the entrance
to the art gallery.
Edyth Bush Theatre
While the Edyth Bush Theatre, located on Cleveland Avenue in Saint
Paul, is not actually gone, it is no longer a part of Hamline University.
Mrs. Edyth Bush, who had received the theatre as a birthday gift in
1940 from her husband, A.G. Bush, , presented the theatre to Hamline
University in 1964. It was equipped with a lavish dressing room, state-of
the-art lighting equipment, cushioned seats, and air-conditioning.
The doorknobs and ceilings were built lower than a standard theatre
to accommodate Mrs. Bush’s petite frame. For nearly twenty-five
years, the theatre provided the Twin Cities with the first-rate theatre
productions. The theatre was sold in 1975 to the Chimera Theatre Company,
but now holds offices.

Frog Pond/Proposal Rock
Frog Pond was located in what is now Newell Park, west of campus on
Fairview and Hewitt Avenues, and was a retreat for many Hamline students.
It was a favorite place for a stroll, a picnic, and general escape
from academic life. A massive boulder, known as Proposal Rock, was a
destination as well. The class of 1925 hatched a plan to move the rock
to campus as a symbol of romance and as a memorial to their class (and
Frog Pond). It proved too weighty a project, however, so a rock moved from
Frog Pond by the class of 1886 serves as a substitute. It currently
sits in front of the Giddens Learning Center and is chiseled with five
sets of class years, in intervals of twenty-five years: 1886, 1911,
1936, and 1986.
Do you have a story about Frog Pond or Proposal Rock?
Share it with
us!
Goheen Hall/Ladies Hall
The original University Hall was the first building constructed on
campus, and Ladies Hall was the second, constructed in 1882. It was
a three-story brick building, built to house women on the upper floors.
The first floor had a parlor, music rooms, and quarters for female
professors and the college matron. The basement had a kitchen, dining
room, storage room, and laundry room. When University Hall burned down
it was used for all classes as well as housing both men and women.
In 1895, a time of depression and financial strain, Mrs. Anna Harrison
Goheen mortgaged her homestead and loaned the university $5,000 at
five cents interest, to help assist in paying for Ladies Hall. The
hall was renamed Goheen Hall in her honor on March 3, 1908.
In 1923, Goheen Hall became a men’s dorm when the women moved
to Manor Hall. It was used for many purposes over the years, including
serving as a home to Joe Hutton and his family for seventeen years.
It had a rehearsal room for the choir, a bookstore, a post office,
a shop for carpenters, a broadcasting center for the campus radio club,
quarters for the placement service, and offices and lounges for members
of the faculty.
Goheen Hall was demolished in 1970 and the Hamline University School
of Law now stands in its place.
Hamline/Asbury Hospital
A new venture was launched in 1940 when Hamline University and Asbury
Methodist Hospital of Minneapolis (established in 1892) established
the Hamline-Asbury School of Nursing, offering a five-year program
(later a four-year) leading to the degree of bachelor of science in
nursing. In taking this step, Hamline was moving with a growing trend
in the country to provide academic training for women preparing for
careers in nursing. A three-year program leading to a diploma in nursing
was also offered. In 1949 the Mounds-Midway School of Nursing joined
the school, the enlarged institution taking the name of the Hamline
University School of Nursing.
The School of Nursing, which had won wide recognition for the excellence
of its program, was discontinued in 1962 following the decision to
concentrate resources and staff on the liberal arts program. The last
class in the three-year program graduated in 1960 and the last class
in the degree program in 1962. A total of 447 women completed the degree
program and received the bachelor of science in nursing degree, and
758 women finished the three-year program and received diplomas in
nursing.
Medical School
The school was established in 1895 when the university took over the
Minneapolis College of Physicians and Surgeons. About 300 people received
their M.D. degree from the medical school. In 1900, a building was
erected at the corner of 5th and 7th Avenue in Minneapolis, which was
a part of Hamline until 1907 when trustees voted to merge the medical
school with the University of Minnesota Medical School.
Old Gymnasium/Ladies Gym
The Ladies Gym (later know as the Old Gym) was dedicated on November
30, 1909. It contained a running track nine feet above the floor, new
exercise equipment, and a handball court. Directly underneath was a
dirt-floor basement excavated for a future swimming pool. It also included
a kitchen and serving room on the main floor and a reception and banquet
hall on the second floor. There were 400 lockers for men and 100 for
women. Later in its history, the gym housed Hamline’s gymnastics
team. The second floor banquet hall was used a classroom and office
space and the basement was converted into a workout room called the
Piper Pit. On July 27, 1998, the building was demolished.
Hall
of Science
(Visit the current excavation
of this building! More below.)
The Hall of Science, dedicated on January 5, 1888, was a massive three-story
red brick building that stood between Goheen Hall and Old Main. The
first building built during Henry Bridgman’s term as president,
it contained recitation and lecture rooms, laboratories, lecture rooms,
and storage areas. The third floor was a museum of natural history.
The basement was used as a mess hall until WWI, when the entire building
became a barracks.
In 1907, an $8,000 second story was added to the rear wing to house
an additional biology lab. The museum on the third floor and several
classrooms were used for military squads and sleeping quarters during
World War I. The museum itself was gone by the 1930s and was instead
used as a theatre. In 1952 the hall, renamed the Social Science Hall,
was torn down in 1971.
Hall of Science Dig – Excavating Hamline’s History
The site of the Hall of Science building is located in the open area
between Bush Library, the School of Law, the physical plant, and Old
Main. An excavation is being conducted along the original front of the
Hall of Science building. This location will allow access to the building
foundation and grounds in front of the building. These two areas should
yield valuable archaeological evidence of the Hall of Science building.
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