OT: Rutgers Plans to Demolish Ford Hall
- Thread starter Sir ScarletKnight
- Start date
Yes, we should tear down the 2nd oldest dorm on campus (circa 1914) and put up a building that looks like a beer can.
Ford Hall needs to be gutted and a $100 million dollar office complex installed in it's interior. We all know RU needs more larger and plusher offices for those hardworking efficient Administrators. We must reach our 1:1 Paper shufflers to student ratio goal!
I think using it as the Alumni building is a wonderful idea. It's in the heart of campus and would correct a longstanding shortsighted mistake on the part of the administration. They sure want plenty of money from Alumni all the time, but they haven't even done so much as put an alumni center on campus. It would be nice if for once they didn't treat alums like such an afterthought unless it was fundraising time.
it was down the steps from Brower to the right by the parking deck next to that little conveinence store
yes..is it still there....the reading room where everyone would go and study of course the noise level was off the charts...big social event lol
Yep, the Ledge (now the SAC or Student Activities Center) is still there. They actually just replaced all the furniture in that room.
i would assume there is no more reserved stuff for people to read in this day and age of technology right?
Not in the SAC. There are plenty of other places with books and such! In Murray Hall there's a lending library, obviously the 21 different other libraries on campus, etc.
Al, as usual you ideas are...let me say
...for shit. You don't touch The Barn. Just a little bit of history gor you to digest.....the paved over parking lot behind the Barn/College Ave Gym is where the first intercollegiate football game was played. It would be nice to do something to memorialize the area. The only thing close is a wooden plaque inside the gym.
A fraternity row for the Heights campus was planned years ago and as usual never materialized. And let's not forget the biggest planning fiasco relating to the College Football Hall of Fame....ground was broken not once but twice at Rutgers with nothing being done both by Rutgers and the State of NJ.
A very good use for Ford Hall would be an alumni center with a top rate Alumni Faculty Club open to all including local businessmen via membership. This is what they have at UNC. A Rutgers fraternity brother of mine who lives in Chapel Hill is a member and ww went there for dinner after we played there. It is often used by local businesspeople and alumni for meetings and other social events. This would fit nicely within the concept suggested earlier.
Unfortunately the architecture of Rutgers is a mixed bag. We have to be one of the fewvuniversities in the country that doesn't have any theme or style. We see buildings with different colors of brick and style. The Livingston Campus is a classic example.
...for shit. You don't touch The Barn. Just a little bit of history gor you to digest.....the paved over parking lot behind the Barn/College Ave Gym is where the first intercollegiate football game was played. It would be nice to do something to memorialize the area. The only thing close is a wooden plaque inside the gym.
A fraternity row for the Heights campus was planned years ago and as usual never materialized. And let's not forget the biggest planning fiasco relating to the College Football Hall of Fame....ground was broken not once but twice at Rutgers with nothing being done both by Rutgers and the State of NJ.
A very good use for Ford Hall would be an alumni center with a top rate Alumni Faculty Club open to all including local businessmen via membership. This is what they have at UNC. A Rutgers fraternity brother of mine who lives in Chapel Hill is a member and ww went there for dinner after we played there. It is often used by local businesspeople and alumni for meetings and other social events. This would fit nicely within the concept suggested earlier.
Unfortunately the architecture of Rutgers is a mixed bag. We have to be one of the fewvuniversities in the country that doesn't have any theme or style. We see buildings with different colors of brick and style. The Livingston Campus is a classic example.
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I assume you're referring to:
http://www.clubcorp.com/Clubs/Carolina-Club/Our-Story/Life-at-the-Club
https://alumni.unc.edu/about-the-gaa/history/
That's not a bad idea, and might be something Johnson and Johnson would be interested in partnering on. That's a great space to bring possible clients to. The other possible place for an alumni center is on the Golf Course with an actual golf clubhouse that would fulfill those same ideas...it would be a nice location in isolation, and offers the obvious benefit of both space and proximity to the stadium, but Busch still is not the historic home of Rutgers, and so I continue to favor a New Brunswick location.
The architecture of Rutgers is a really mixed bag. It always has been, always will be. I personally favor a more traditional look, but I also love the Business building. The Yard...we'll see how it ages, but the building itself is great. I am however probably the only person who really likes Brower's architecture. (At least on the outside.)
Once again you are clueless in knowing what prospective students/ athletes are looking for.
Serving the needs of students must take the highest priorities over everything else.
Why should people settle for second rate when they can choose the best? Do you really think people will overlook the barns inadequate functionality due to its history?
I look at the barn and I'm frankly embarrassed because it does not compare well with similar facilities, specifically Pittsburghs, Penn States, and Marylands. Ive been to a lot of great State universities and ive never seen an athletic facility as embarrassing as the barn in the heart of campus, no less. It is small, antiquated, and stuffy. College Ave students shouldn't have to go to Busch or Cook to use a modern facility.
We need to have best of breed facilities if we are to better compete for jerseys best students. Campus aesthetics is a big reason why many of New Jersey's best students go to Penn State and elsewhere. I know the history very well, and the history wouldn't change if were to build a modern facility with an expanded footprint that better meets the needs of our students. You could keep the facade but totally gut everything inside and expand into the Parking lot. But the ideal,would be to demolish everything and build an entirely modern facility.
Ford wouldn't be the ideal location for an alumni center due to parking. Busch would probably be better and you could situate it next to the visitor center.
I was at Rutgers when the Fraternity row idea was debated and not pursued due to lack of funds. It was a good idea that should be revisited, imo.
Great Idea. Let's demolish those frat houses. Total f***ing eyesores
These are the nicer houses, which aren't that great inside. There are others that are aren't as great. At Maryland EVERY fraternity house is nice.
Great Idea. Let's demolish those frat houses. Total f***ing eyesores
These are the nicer houses, which aren't that great inside. There are others that are aren't as great. At Maryland EVERY fraternity house is nice.
Ford hall was one of the few building I actually liked at Rutgers. Oh well. Just like marriage, out with the old. In with the new!
I watched the 75-76 Final Four team play there so maybe I'm biased. To me The Barn is sacrosanct.
Just going to say, as a tour guide, the Barn is not the problem in terms of keeping NJs best students home. And yes, it could use significant upgrades, but it's one of the nicest parts of that part of campus architecture wise. Could use a new and state of the art annex.
As for athletes, they're irrelevant regarding the Barn because we're in the middle of building them a brand new space. Unless you're referring to the women's volleyball team which, well...yeah. they're going nowhere fast.
The problem is that the visitors center is in the boonies for everything except football. No connection for alumni or students. Ditto with the golf course and most of Busch. As for parking, there's a lot right behind Murray that has plenty of space on Weekends and is still overdue for a deck.
15% of students are in Greek life, and it's not exactly in a position of strength right now. The idea of sinking money into the system is laughable.
Al, I honestly can't think of a crappy frat/sorority left at RU. All of the old POS houses were demolished 10 years ago on Union St and apartment building built....now that I think, there is one craphole frat/sorority house left on Union St and one older house that could use TLC on Hamilton/Hardenberg. Everything else is brand new or at least updated. You're also limited to where you can build these things and a weiner like Barchi isn't going to be putting funds up to develop greek life housing.
At Maryland every Greek house is also exactly the same. The same exact model. Our Greek houses are unique and historic. Many are very old. Sure they're not as big and elaborate as other universities but so what. To be fair though some of those houses are dumps.
The Skull house, theta chi, delta chi should be torn down tbh.
Since it's a great idea and an actual need (must have parking deck close!) there is no way RU will do it. Makes way too much sense for RU.
My concept of hiring another thousand or so overpaid bureaucrats to sit on their ass shielded from peon interaction and micro mismanage things must be on the front burner. For example, the F'in Assclowns who fumbled the 50-50 for FOUR GAMES, football losing at least $100,000+ cash need several mahogany office suites. We can also house and expand the Victim Studies programs as illegal left handed albino trannies need at least a dozen administrators to guide indoctrination of those filthy cis heterosexual males who spoil the campus!
one of my kids lived there and it was pretty bad then but must be really horrible now with the need for housing on campus --hey if it's too costly to renovate and space is so valuable on college ave why not put tear it down and build something needed
Unless I'm mistaken, this whole exchange between the two of you last night around midnight went astray as you were talking about two different things.
Bac is referring to the Roost, a reading room that I think was annexed to the original Records Hall. A computer lab (when those things were relevant) was inside there too. As he correctly described it was just behind Brower, down some steps, and across the hardscape, and kind of behind the parking deck, and there was a small convenience shop in that area.
Not sure why Bac said yes when you responded with the Ledge/SAC. That's much further down, beyond Records Hall, and across George Street.
1) Demolish the smoke stack
2) Demolish the River Dorms which look like 1960 Soviet Union housing
2) Demolish the River Dorms which look like 1960 Soviet Union housing
At Maryland, like Penn State and many basically all other Universities where there are nice houses, the University built them or at least funded them leasing them back to the Fraternities. This way the University forces the fraternities to keep them nice.
At dear old Rutgers, the Fraternities are owned by the local chapter and Rutgers historically never provided any financial support - even in terms of loans. Because of this relationship, Rutgers University has little to no power over aesthetics and neither does the national chapter.
When I was in school, the plan to put fraternities on Busch was floated. We had a mortgage on the house that was literally $1,000 per year. Rutgers wanted us to sell the house to them, at a below market rate, and commit to relocate to a new house on Busch at a much higher total cost. There was so little thought put into the proposal it was DOA.
At dear old Rutgers, the Fraternities are owned by the local chapter and Rutgers historically never provided any financial support - even in terms of loans. Because of this relationship, Rutgers University has little to no power over aesthetics and neither does the national chapter.
When I was in school, the plan to put fraternities on Busch was floated. We had a mortgage on the house that was literally $1,000 per year. Rutgers wanted us to sell the house to them, at a below market rate, and commit to relocate to a new house on Busch at a much higher total cost. There was so little thought put into the proposal it was DOA.
To build upon this, it is only mildly curb-appealing when looking out over the all-brick fraternity row in College Park from Baltimore Avenue/Rt. 1, since it is laid out at least somewhat thoughtfully along the outside of a road in a U-shape (with the green field on the inside of the road likely used for recreational activities). But the houses are so cookie-cutter looking architecturally that it's frankly quite monotonous and uninspiring. If UMd had alternated about 3 different plans that would have been looked much better, but they probably looked to save money in some way so they built them uniformly and boring.
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If NB could get rid of the projects, and beautify that part of the 18/waterfront, then we should do our part and demolish those 3 disasters (even though, IIRC, my dad lived in one of them when they opened..Campbell I believe)!!!
I got more #'s at "The Roost" than any freakin' bar; loved that place! Everyone was mangled half the time lol!
That would make much more sense than the SAC, although the SAC IS TECHNICALLY down the Brower steps and to the right. Nope, that doesn't exist. There is a computer lab in records hall, and computer labs are actually still very relevant and heavily utilized.
Behind Murray or we could work out a deal with the Seminary, whose parking lot is usually near empty after school hours and is directly across the street.
Rutgers actually has the largest on-campus res-life program in the country, just beating out Ohio State. And modern classrooms are going up all over the place, we just built at least four new classroom buildings (possibly five, I've lost count at this point.). What we really do need on campus is some top-notch event space. Anytime the alumni association wants to host a nice event, that money goes off-campus. Anytime Fraternities or Sororities want a formal, that money goes off campus. Other than Livingston, every Multi Purpose Room is out of date, and the Livi MPR is far from standout place to host large formal-type events. All the MPR's are reserved months in advance, and none of them fill this niche. An alumni center isn't just a "hangout" as you put it, it's a place where alumni associations can hold fundraisers, create a revenue stream, and bring alumni back to campus for events other than football or basketball. There simply isn't a comparable facility on campus.
You guys know that the plan is to demolish The CA Student Center, Brower, Records Hall, The CA physical plant (see smokestacks), etc. along with Hardenbergh and the SAC (The Ledge) to build the new College Ave. Quad and transportation center. The Barn is to be renovated and featured at the head of the new quad which includes a new dining hall, student center, and student activities space.
It's a marvelous plan. I hope it happens.
It's a marvelous plan. I hope it happens.
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