Oread Hall's artists regard the converted army barracks much like an old shoe . . .
The former residence hall is now used to provide studio space for department of art seniors.
Oread Hall, built in 1946, like an old shoe a few yards west of Memorial Stadium. Its ancient paint is letting the battle to bare wood, and rust is conquering the window screens. It's easy to imagine the rumble of a wrecking crew anorocking for the kill.
Oread was a residence hall all 1962 and now provides free studio space for 60 seniors in the department of art. Here they carry on an independent existence. And they have to, because Oread has no drinking water, only one faucet, one toilet for both sexes and radiators that sometimes explode. These drawbacks don't seem to bother anyone, however.
"it's got class," Dennis Teepe, Lawrence senior, said recently as he cleaned up his studio. Teepe praised its family atmosphere. Richard Seaman, Lawrence senior, agreed, saying that interaction between artists made Oread valuable to him.
"There's a great camaraderie among the artists here," he said. "I don't mind the mess the place is in. I've never painted in a pristine place. A mess is inevitable."
Karen Totten, Wichita junior, said she liked
the fact that she could get messy and not worry about it. She agreed that Oread seemed to create a special bond among people that worked there.
Sugging floors and the smell of fresh paint are noticeable in the dark, dusty halls. Music emanates from several rooms, and many walls are decorated with graffiti.
"Oread—the only place on campus where the jantors put graffiti on the walls," reads one. Any wall is fair game for a random splat of paint. Functional changes also have been made. Some students, unsatisfied with the size of the 80-square room, have received grants to buy new rooms and gardens to remove windows between rooms. The sound of an ax roaring工木 is common.
"There's a general lack of concern by B and G about this place until there's a football game. Then they try to clean up the place," Teepe said.
"A lot of alumni come back and say, 'My God, I used to live there, what happened?'"
a rall was built to temporarily relieve
see WORN OUT page seven
"You don't have to be crazy to work here—but it helps," said Richard Seaman, Lawrence senior, in his painting studio at Oread Hall.
Any wall is fair game for embellishment in Ordn Hall, but bathroom walls are favorites. Photos by Jay Koekzar
Story by LeRoy Johnston