Old and New

Denim overalls. Polaroid cameras. Full House. Everything that’s old is new again … or so they say. Certainly in the case of Full House. But at UW-Madison, sometimes it feels like the mood is more out-with-the-old than anything else. We know that campus has certainly changed a lot since you graduated — heck, it’s changed a lot in the past six months! To see just how much campus has changed over the years, take a look at these then-and-now photos from some famous campus locales. (Photo Credit UW-Archives)

From 1967-71, a pedestrian bridge crossed Park Street between Science Hall and Memorial Union. 2016: Memorial Union, Lake at Park Pedestrians wishing to cross Park Street at an elevated level must now use the bridge that connects Bascom to the Humanities building. This bridge was under construction in 1968, and opened along with Humanities in 1969. (Photo Credit UW-Archives 10704)

676 State Street was one of 30 Rennebohm’s locations in Madison. The storefront had glass windows through the 1960s, but were replaced by brick following anti-war violence. 2016: Walgreens, Lake at State In the late 1970s, Walgreens bought out the local drugstore. (Photo Credit UW-Archives 03050)

Students can be seen walking along what must have been a sidewalk, since the 700 and 800 blocks of State Street weren’t closed off to vehicular traffic until 1976 (construction began in 1974). 2016: State Street at Memorial Library Now, State Street Mall is one of the most popular lunch locations on campus, featuring scores of food trucks throughout the warmer months. Masarap, the cart located in the left of this picture, is one of the newer carts to appear. (Photo Credit UW-Archives CLP-W0086)

The area behind Vilas Hall, between University Avenue and Johnson Street, was formerly a parking lot. The rest of the block was occupied by the original University Square, which included bars and restaurants. In 2006, demolition began to accommodate East Campus Mall. 2016: East Campus Mall University Square, the 1.1 million square foot multi-use space opened in 2008. It houses shops, restaurants, apartments, and University Tower, which brought the Student Activities Center, University Health Services, and other student services together under one roof. (Photo Credit UW-Archives 10770)

Prior to the fall of 1916, Bascom Hall was topped with a dome. On October 10, 1916, that dome started on fire. The original structure was lost, but the rest of the building remained in tact. 2016: Bascom Hall In 1919, the Abe statue was moved to its current location, the Lincoln Terrace — about 100 feet up the hill from it’s original location. (Photo Credit UW-Archives CLP-W0114)

In 1946, Quonset huts were built on Library Mall to quickly create more classroom space for the influx of post-war students. There were 15 total huts built. In 1953, the first 13 huts were taken down. Q14 was removed to be replaced by Helen C. White Hall in 1969. The last hut, Q15, was in use through 2004 as the art departments metal-sculpture lab. 2016: Library Mall In the late 1940s, William Hagenah 1903, JD1905 proposed a plan for “beautifying” the lower half of campus. By 1958, the “front door to campus” was fully opened, along with the Hagenah Fountain. (Photo Credit UW-Archives S02760)

Science Hall was completed in December 1887 and the university started occupying it in January 1888. 2016: Science Hall It’s nice to know that not everything on campus has undergone a massive facelift. Today, Science Hall looks largely the same as it did when it was first built. (Photo Credit UW-Archives CLP-S0017)