West Hall: Noticing Changes Big and Small

This morning I had a call from a friend with whom I once worked at Virginia Commonwealth University. We both started at VCU at the same time, and although she left many years before I did we still stay in touch. She called to ask about a paper I had written a few years back and after chatting about that our conversation took a turn to the informal side of life. Among questions about family and careers, she mentioned that she had read this blog. She remarked that I have an eye for minutia. Her thoughts came in response to my posts on the changes in Jones Stadium at Texas Tech. Although those changes were dramatic and hard to miss, she thought that few people would notice that handrails seen in my posts on Arizona State and the University of Denver had changed since I had initially visited. That may be so, but in a visit to the University of Tennessee in 2001 I immediately noticed that stair rails in one particular location had been painted a different color. Perhaps its just me. I will admit that I do pay attention to the details of things.

I could not help but think again about all of the changes that have happened at Texas Tech since my time as a student there. It should come as no surprise that the institution has changed a great deal since I matriculated in 1996. Most colleges and universities have. But Tech's changes have been remarkable. The institution, which was slightly smaller than my alma mater Tennessee when I went there, is now the larger institution. In the fall of 1996, UT had a headcount of 25,086, whereas Texas Tech's headcount was 24,717. That difference of 369 people is not all that big of a deal. What is a big deal is that UT's current enrollment is 38,728 students compared to Tech's 40,969. Both institutions have grown enrollment, but the gap is now 2,241 and Tech is the larger university. In both cases, that kind of enrollment growth means that a number of new buildings have cropped up at both schools. The growth, along with the intervening years also means that existing buildings at both places have been razed and others renovated. 

Sometimes that means things like handrails being changed, and sometimes the differences are more substantial. One substantive change that comes to is the modification of the front façade of West Hall on the Texas Tech campus. West underwent a renovation after I graduated. The first time I saw it afterwards, I knew something about the exterior was quite different, but assumed it was simply the addition of an accessible ramp at the front door. It was actually more than that. The entire center section of the façade was totally reworked. To show just what this change looks like, compare the photos in the first set below. The first photo was taken during my first visit to campus on June 3, 1996. The next two were taken last month. The theme is similar, but they are not alike.

The change came during a renovation of the building which was completed in August 2001. I am not sure why the change was made. I assume there was something wrong with the structure of the building and removing the façade was required. Perhaps too much was broken to allow for reinstallation. I also don't know why the façade was not simply recreated. When West was constructed, a nearly identical dorm was built on the other side of the Broadway quad, Doak Hall. Doak has undergone renovations over the course of its life as well, but it has kept its original centerpiece. Again, it looks very much (perhaps identical to) the way West once looked. I have placed a (not so great) photo of its façade below. 

So what happened to the original features of West Hall? I am pleased to say that the university had the foresight to keep many of those elements. As you can see in the following set, they are placed in an exhibit just to the east of the main entrance to the building. 

West Hall is named in honor of James Marion West, a tycoon of the lumber, gas, and cattle businesses. It was the first dorm on campus for men and it stands more or less directly across from Doak which was the first residence hall for women on campus. Both have long ceased being dorms. They were funded by grants and loans from the Public Works Administration arm of the federal government during the Great Depression. Both were designed architect W.W. Watkin. It opened with the name Men's Dormitory #1. It was subsequently renamed in honor of West. A native of Mississippi, West moved with his parents to east Texas as a boy. From very modest roots, he would become the equivalent of a billionaire in today's dollars. He served on the Tech Board and was its president in 1940 and 1941. The rural community of Westville, Texas is also named for him.

In addition to noticing changes, I am also keen on noticing trends. For example, there are dozens of West Halls at colleges and universities across the U.S. Most of them seem to be dormitories, as was the case with the West Hall I covered in my post on Arizona State. I can only think of three other West Halls that are named for someone. A residence hall at the University of North Dakota which is named for John C. West the university's sixth president. The West Hall at Valdosta State University in Georgia is named for William Stanley West, who prior to becoming a U.S. Senator, was a state senator who helped establish the university. The last would be Joe West Hall at San Jose State. However, I do not know anything about the building's namesake. I only know the building thanks to the number of student deaths that have occurred in the building. Suicides are unfortunate reality in higher ed, and residence halls are a common location for these tragedies, but Joe West seems to have had more than its fair share. The building was slated for demolition as the university updates its residence facilities on campus, but it is still standing and in-use as of this writing.