Browse Items (12 total)

While many students shuffle in and out of UMass’ Blue Wall each day, few are aware that the modest cafeteria was once one of the wildest and most popular bars in Amherst. Throughout the 1970s and early 80s, the Blue Wall was notorious for being able…

Few knowledge seekers could visit the DuBois Library without also observing the picturesque Old Chapel, which once functioned as the university’s library, quietly situated below the looming tower’s rise. Disproportionately large, the DuBois library…

Constructed in 1903, Draper Hall has been in existence for over one hundred years. In its first years, Draper Hall was home to the university's only dining hall. Located at a far more convenient portion of campus in relation to the other dining halls…

The University of Massachusetts has long been an institution striving toward growth and expansion, transforming from a modest agrarian college into a large, modern, and bustling campus. This spirit of growth and change is exemplified by the story of…

Up until the mid-20th century, UMass had a department of Poultry Science (in some records referred to as the “Poultry Husbandry Department”, or simply the “Poultry Department”) within the Stockbridge School. The primary center of this department was…

North College, also known as North Dormitory or Old North, was built in 1867 as housing for students attending the Massachusetts Agricultural College (M.A.C.). The building originally housed approximately sixty-five students. Since M.A.C. was not…

The traditional class emblem, or memento, has often been either a pin or a ring. The class of 1882 wanted to do something different. After much debate, they decided to dedicate a fountain to the university in honor of their graduating class. The…

The Fine Arts Center, constructed during the early 1970’s, reaching completion in 1974, occupies a prominent space on campus. The building’s unique design was intended to mimic the Elm tree lined walkway that once occupied the space between the…

The state of Massachusetts gave $6,500 for the construction of the Drill Hall that was built on the Massachusetts Agricultural College campus between 1882 and 1883. This large barn-like structure stood on the south hill of South College. Originally,…

The Massachusetts Agricultural College was founded in 1863 and the Old Chemistry Laboratory (also known as College Hall) was one of the first buildings erected on the campus. The Chemistry Laboratory, built in 1867 and expanded two years later, was…