Loyola’s Water Tower Campus
A block and a half away from Chicago’s Magnificent Mile, a few blocks from the Gold Coast neighborhood, and walking distance from the Oak Street Beach; you will find Loyola’s Water Tower Campus. Home to the Schools of Business, Education, Social Work, Law, Continuing & Professional Studies, Communications, and Loyola’s Arrupe College; Loyola’s other campus is one full of opportunities all in a central downtown location.
How to Get Here:
Most students who live at the Lakeshore campus can take the Intercampus Shuttle Bus which runs typically every 15-20 minutes and gets you to either campus in around 25-30 minutes (depending on traffic). To use the shuttle service, be sure to use your guest pass or student ID card. Sometimes there is a delay on the shuttle or you cannot wait, you can also take the Red Line train from Loyola down to Chicago and State. This would roughly take 30-35 minutes. Of course, you can always take a Taxi or an Uber/Lyft.
Living Downtown:
Compared to Lakeshore campus, Water Tower has only one residence hall, Baumhart Hall. These rooms are often quads or triples. Luckily, there are also tons of apartments/condos that are situated close to campus for students to use.
Eating Downtown:
There are no dining halls at the Water Tower campus. However, LU’s deli, acts as a dining hall by providing sandwiches, plates, drinks, and more to students who have a meal plan. There are also places you can use your RamblerBucks: Epic Burger, Flaco’s Tacos, Potbelly, and Subway. In addition, being situated close to the Magnificent Mile allows students to have access to Water Tower Place (bunch of eateries, snacks, restaurants, cafes), Ghirardelli (for dessert), and small bake and pastry shops like Le Pain Quotedien.
Opportunities Downtown:
Being situated in Chicago gives students an advantage when it comes to finding jobs and internships. This is especially helpful for Communications and Business majors. Walking distance from campus are world renowned Advertising, Public Relations, Marketing, Finance, etc. agencies/corporations that offer internships/entry level jobs. Classes are also able to draw from real world application of their studies. For example, in my Consumer Behavior class we told to explore the psychological set up and intentional, sensory design of a store on Michigan Ave.
Events Downtown:
Every semester, the Water Tower campus holds a block party. Here students and faculty get a chance to relax and enjoy each other’s company and of course free, tasty food. Caterers come to the campus with free sandwiches, salads, desserts, and coupons. There are also prizes you can win and you are able to enjoy some free musical entertainment. But seriously, who can turn down free, tasty food?
At Loyola’s School of Communications you can find Rambler Sports Locker which is Loyola’s version of ESPN with an update on sports, games, and events happening throughout the week. There is also WLUW 88.7 FM, Loyola’s radio station. Here, you can find talk shows, differing types of music, and more! Students are encouraged to apply to be able to become a DJ.
