By Sarah Seifert (Final Project for Spring 2010)
As I am about to complete my time here at Loyola University Chicago, one of Damen Hall’s time here on campus is coming to a close as well. Damen Hall, built in 1966, is coming down this summer, to make way for better, safer, more aesthetically pleasing classroom space. This project documents my last time inside of Damen’s sterile hallways, an experience that proved to be somewhat nostalgic in feeling. It highlights how Damen Hall is well past its prime in an effective space for today’s university campus, while fondly recalling its past.
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- Old mailboxes in the building’s second entrance help to reveal the age of the building.
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- Signs are hung on many of the shuttered classrooms in preparation for the hall’s demolition.
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- …and how long it has been since these lockers have been opened.
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- With its destruction imminent, there is less emphasis on keeping the space neat.
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- Many of Damen’s floors are quiet as its usage for classroom space winds down.
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- Hallways of lockers beg the question of how the building was used back in its “heyday”…
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- The main method of travel between floors was the building’s borderline dangerous set of escalators.
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- Students have walked the hallways of Damen Hall since 1966.
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- At the bottom of one of its stairwells, a random fan signals the beginning of a possible junk pile.
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- The 10 story eye sore is said to be a cesspool for asbestos.
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- Damen Hall is set to be demolished this summer, 2010.