Walking Tour of the Danforth Campus

WALKING TOUR DANFORTH CAMPUS

William H. and Elizabeth Gray Danforth University Center (#27)

Rebstock Hall (#102)

Mallinckrodt Center (#77)

Monsanto Laboratory (#86)

Umrath Hall (#119)

Graham Chapel (#52)

Busch Laboratory (#17)

The numbers in parentheses after building names refer to the key on the campus map.

Jeanette Goldfarb Plant Growth Facility (#51)

Welcome to Washington University in St. Louis!

We enjoy showing our beautiful Danforth Campus to visitors. We’ve created this self-guided walking tour, so you can explore the campus on your own. Your tour guide is Whitney, a recent graduate and longtime tour guide for the Office of Undergraduate Admissions.

Enjoy your time on campus!

FROM THE DUC, HEADING EAST You are currently in the William H. and Elizabeth Gray Danforth University Center (#27), known affectionately as the DUC. This environmentally friendly facility houses group spaces and the Fun Room with its comfortable furniture and video game consoles. Student Involvement and Leadership is located in the DUC; this office helps coordinate many extracurricular activities and assists student groups in planning events and programs. The DUC also is home to the Student Union, the main student governing body that allocates its large annual budget to approximately 350 student groups on campus. Offices for student media—Student Life, the independent student newspaper published twice a week during the academic year; WUTV campus television station; and KWUR 90.3 FM—have their homes in the DUC. Also in the DUC is the Career Center, which offers a four-year career planning program, so students can get a head start in planning the next step after graduation. Full-time counselors help students polish their résumés; search for internships, summer jobs, and postgraduate work; and connect with Washington University alumni. The Career Center also brings St. Louis area executives to campus to meet with students, and it hosts my favorite program: the Etiquette Dinner (so you never have to wonder which fork and spoon to use at a business dinner).

Dains Dining Hall, Ibby’s Bistro, and Café Bergson are also in the DUC. Stop in for some made-to-order Mexican, Asian, comfort, or Italian food; enjoy a Jamba Juice smoothie; or sit down for a nice meal at Ibby’s Bistro.

As you exit the DUC to the north, you will be facing Mudd Field. There, you’ll often find students playing intramural sports, casually throwing a Frisbee with friends, or just lounging or studying. Turn to your right, and you will walk along the field and in front of the recently renovated Umrath Hall (#119), literally rebuilt from the inside out. Umrath is home to the John C. Danforth Center for Religion and Politics and the Center for the Humanities. Campus Y also makes its home in Umrath. One of the campus centers for community service, Campus Y offers weekly service programs as well as one-time events, such as Alternative Spring Break and Urban Plunge.

of our students. If you follow the path leading southwest from the sculpture, you will find Mallinckrodt Center (#77), a gathering place during the day and the site of many activities in the evening. The Arts & Sciences Performing Arts Department is housed in the upper level of Mallinckrodt, while Edison Theatre (the main theater on campus), dance and acting studios, and the box office are on the first level. Edison is home to Performing Arts Department and student group productions, auditions for which are open to all students. Some of the many great student group productions in Edison are the Lunar New Year Festival, Diwali, Carnaval, and Black Anthology.

To the left is Graham Chapel (#52). Turn left on the path in front of Umrath and head toward the benches in front of Graham Chapel. Legend has it that if you stand on the seal (it says “Brizzi Plaza”) in front of the chapel, you can hear echoes of your voice. Since Washington University is nondenominational, religious services are not regularly held here, but the chapel is the site of numerous performances, speaker series, and other events throughout the year. Past speakers have included many U.S. presidents, Hillary Clinton, the Dalai Lama of Tibet, Jesse Jackson, Bill Gates, Spike Lee, and Margaret Atwood. Graham Chapel is also a popular place for alumni weddings.

Mallinckrodt is also home to our campus bookstore, as well as a branch of Bank of America, a Subway, meeting rooms, and a copy shop. Next to the patio area outside Subway is Bowles Plaza, another popular place to gather and often the site for rallies for our sports teams.

Head back toward Umrath, and turn left to walk toward the rabbit sculpture, “Thinker on the Rock.” This sculpture, one of a series by Barry Flanagan, was loaned to the university by the Gateway Foundation. Other rabbits in the series are located around the country—the most notable location perhaps being the National Gallery in Washington, D.C. You’re likely to overhear students planning to meet “at the bunny” before they go to lunch, a meeting, or a study group. You may even see the rabbit wearing a customized sweater, knitted by one

Following the path east from the bunny, you see on your right the Arts & Sciences buildings home to biology labs and classrooms: Busch Laboratory (#17) and Rebstock Hall (#102).

The Monsanto Laboratory (#86) and the Jeanette Goldfarb Plant Growth Facility (#51) are also in this area. The Natural Sciences Learning Center is housed in these buildings.

Undergraduates have many opportunities to get involved in biological research (though many research opportunities are available in all areas of the university). I had friends who did biological research in the School of Medicine’s Department of Cardiology and in Forest Park, where they tagged opossums to track population growth. There are also interesting research opportunities available through classes. Friends who took a class on medicinal plants went to the rainforest in Peru with the professor to see the plants they were studying.

Washington University in St. Louis | 1

As we continue along the path, we see Olin Library (#81), the large glass building, on the left. Olin is the main library, although the university has 11 additional specialized libraries, all of which are linked to one computerized card catalog accessible online. University Libraries hold more than 4 million volumes and bound journals, and interlibrary loans are available from around St. Louis and the nation. Olin Library actually has five floors, but two are underground, and the entrance is on the middle level. I have to admit that, like many first-year students, I milled around the lowest level, wondering why I couldn’t get out of the library, but after a couple times I did get the hang of it.

The library includes Whispers Café; classrooms in the special collections unit; wireless Internet access throughout; and a variety of study spaces featuring individual carrels, group study rooms, and soft chairs. It also houses the Center for Diversity and Inclusion. Olin Library is open 24 hours a day, seven days a week. In front of the library’s main entrance is a statue of George Washington, the university’s namesake. Also, if you walk closer to Olin, you can see carved letters from the alphabets of several languages in the sidewalk.

Please excuse our construction as Olin undergoes a transformation that will result in more special collections exhibition and storage capacity; an increase in quantity and variety of seating, study, and research spaces; a new north entrance for seamless access to the library; and enhanced accessibility and visibility of specialized research services and special collections. This project is expected to be complete in time for the spring 2018 semester.

On your right, just to the east of Rebstock Hall, stairs lead down from the path. If you look past the stairs, you see the archway of the Psychology Building (#90). Just to the east of the Psychology Building is McDonnell Hall (#69), which is not currently visible.

The Psychology Building contains state-ofthe-art labs. The Department of Psychological & Brain Sciences in Arts & Sciences is internationally recognized for its research, and undergraduates have the chance to assist professors with their research or even create their own research projects. Many students also choose to be research subjects; 2 | Walking Tour

I participated in some really interesting—and possibly groundbreaking—studies in biological and social psychology. It was fascinating to take psychology classes and know that I was concurrently participating in an experiment that could possibly disprove the facts in the book!

McDonnell Hall provides space for research, laboratories, and offices for the Department of Biology in Arts & Sciences. An interesting fact: Enclosed in one of the walls of McDonnell Hall is a time capsule to be opened 100 years after the building’s dedication. It includes a letter from our Chancellor Emeritus William Danforth to the Washington University chancellor of 2093.

Now let’s keep following the main path straight east. On your right side, the building to the east of the stairs is the renovated Wilson Hall (#130), which provides additional space for Biology as well as houses the Arts & Sciences Department of Philosophy and the interdisciplinary Philosophy-NeurosciencePsychology program.

If you look to the east of Wilson Hall, you see a building with spires on the top. This is Brown Hall (#14). Together Brown Hall, Goldfarb Hall (#50), and Hillman Hall (#56) are home to the university’s top-ranked Brown School, which houses Social Work and Public Health. Brown Hall is named for George Warren Brown, a St. Louis shoe manufacturer, and was dedicated in 1937. Brown Hall originally accommodated the entire school of social work. After years of growth, the school doubled its space with the addition of Goldfarb Hall. In 2015, Brown School added Hillman Hall (east of Goldfarb), which again doubled its footprint and brought together faculty, staff, and research centers – as well as the university’s Institute for Public Health – that were previously spread across four locations.

On your left, across the path (north) from Wilson, is Eads Hall (#31). Physicist Arthur Holly Compton conducted his Nobel-prize winning research here. Now, Eads contains, among other things, the Teaching Center and a distance-learning classroom. It also houses the Writing Center, a valuable resource for students; in addition to offering workshops on writing a research or thesis paper, the center’s writing tutors work one-on-one with students.

The Language and Instructional Media Center,

also in Eads, offers a variety of audiovisual technology for students to develop skills in languages. The media center’s resources include viewing stations for videos and listening stations for audio instruction. On the lower level of Eads is the Arts & Sciences Computing Lab. Eads also has many classrooms; I had two wonderful French literature classes there.

Take the diagonal path to the northeast.

The next building on your right (the building connected to the archway that leads to the Quad) is January Hall (#50). The offices for Summer School and University College, the evening division of Arts & Sciences, are housed in January. University College offers many interesting classes; I had a friend who took an advertising class and got to work on a local campaign to enter in a national contest. Also in January is the East Asian Library, one of the quietest and most beautiful places to study—I definitely recommend it.

THE BROOKINGS QUAD AND EAST END OF CAMPUS Go through the archway, and you’re in Brookings Quadrangle (“the Quad”)! On nice days, you can see students relaxing, playing Frisbee, and studying in the Quad. It’s a good place to gather with friends and a beautiful place to study. In fact, one of my favorite courses actually met in the Quad on pretty days.

The Quad is also the site of a number of events each year. At the beginning of the fall semester and end of the spring semester, the Quad is the site of WILD (Walk In Lay Down), which is a well-attended and fun semi-annual concert where students get to sample food and listen to live music by well-known groups (recently, the All-American Rejects and Icona Pop). For one weekend in April, the Quad is also the site of All-Student Theatre, which is a completely student-run production and a great opportunity for students of any major to perform, direct, play in the pit with the orchestra, or serve on the technical crew. Past productions include Much Ado About Nothing, Once Upon a Mattress, Cabaret, and Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead. I have great memories of sitting in the Quad at night, sometimes under a blanket if it was cold, watching friends perform in AllStudent Theatre.

Hillman Hall (#56)

Olin Library (#81)

Wilson Hall (#130)

Psychology Building (#90)

Eads Hall (#31)

Brown Hall (#14)

McDonnell Hall (#69)

Goldfarb Hall (#50)

January Hall (#50) Washington University in St. Louis | 3

Stephen F. & Camilla T. Brauer Hall (#11)

Brookings Hall (#12)

Steinberg Hall (#114)

Bixby Hall (#9)

Givens Hall (#49)

Preston M. Green Hall (#53)

Earl E. and Myrtle E. Walker Hall (#126) Mildred Lane Kemper Art Museum (#65) 4 | Walking Tour

Whitaker Hall for Biomedical Engineering (#128)

Scott Rudolph Hall (#104)

Walk on the diagonal path that leads straight to the Brookings Hall (#12) Arch, connecting North and South Brookings, which make up WashU’s “castle.” (Under the arch, be careful not to step on the seal – legend has it that you won’t graduate if you step on it! Although I accidentally stepped on it as a high school senior and I still graduated.) Briefly, I’d like to describe for you a bit about Washington University’s history.

William Greenleaf Eliot, grandfather of poet T.S. Eliot, co-founded Washington University in 1853 with Wayman Crow. The original name was Eliot Seminary, though it was nondenominational.

In 1857, the name was changed to Washington University because its original charter had been granted on February 22, George Washington’s birthday. After the 1904 St. Louis World’s Fair (where both the ice cream cone and the hot dog made their debut), the university moved to its current location overlooking Forest Park. Several buildings on campus were built just before the World’s Fair and used by the Louisiana Purchase Exposition Company during the Fair – including Brookings Hall, which served as the Fair’s Administration Building.

If you go through the archway and look east, I will tell you about the east end of our campus.

First, let’s talk about what’s there now. To the right (south) of the construction area in front of you are the five buildings—Bixby Hall, Steinberg Hall, Givens Hall, Walker Hall, and Mildred Lane Kemper Art Museum Building—that currently make up the Sam Fox School of Design & Visual Arts.

Bixby Hall (#9), the building farthest east from where we are, is the historic home of the College of Art. It houses Art’s state-of-the-art printmaking facility, undergraduate studios, a 3-D workshop, media labs, and administrative offices. All art majors have their own studio space, and I loved that the art classes are open to all students, both majors and non-majors.

I took advantage of the opportunity to take drawing.

In front of Bixby are two buildings designed by prize-winning architect Fumihiko Maki: the Earl E. and Myrtle E. Walker Hall (#126) and the Mildred Lane Kemper Art Museum (#65). Walker Hall houses studios, shops for sculpture, and the Nancy Spirtas Kranzberg

Studio for the Illustrated Book. When it first opened at the original downtown location, the university’s museum was the first art gallery west of the Mississippi. Today the Kemper Art Museum exhibits one of the finest university art collections in North America! I thought it was wonderful that, throughout the year, I could simply walk over to browse through amazing works that make up this collection, which was begun under the direction of H.W. Jansen, author of the famous textbook, History of Art. The museum grounds also house the Florence Steinberg Weil Sculpture Garden, the Kranzberg Art & Architecture Library, offices of the Department of Art History & Archaeology in Arts & Sciences, and the Newman Money Museum.

Next to Bixby is Steinberg Hall (#114), which houses Art’s photography and communication design areas, as well as provides space for Architecture and the Weitman Gallery. Also in Steinberg is Etta’s Café, a great spot for grab-ngo food like sandwiches, salads, pastries, and hot and cold beverages.

The building to the west of Steinberg, and closest to where we are, is Givens Hall (#49), which houses the College of Architecture and the Graduate School of Architecture & Urban Design, also part of the Sam Fox School of Design & Visual Arts. You may see architecture projects scattered on the lawn around the building, either on display or in progress. You may also see groups of architecture students outside, perhaps playing a game of volleyball or constructing a tent in the parking lot for Bauhaus, the annual party held around Halloween. (Bauhaus is named for a style of German architecture in the 1930s.) Since costumes are encouraged at Bauhaus, it’s a great night for people watching!

Across from the Sam Fox School complex, on the north side of the construction, you see the Whitaker Hall for Biomedical Engineering (#128), devoted to biomedical engineering teaching and research. Many of my friends have participated in groundbreaking research in this building. A recent project I think is particularly fascinating is the use of a 3-D printer to build prosthetic hands and arms for two local children. Undergraduate researchers worked hard to determine methods for obtaining the best fit and usability of the prostheses.

You can also see Stephen F. & Camilla T. Brauer Hall (#11), which houses the Department of Energy, Environmental, and Chemical Engineering, as well as Preston M. Green Hall (#53), which houses the Department of Electrical and Systems Engineering and serves as headquarters for I-CARES, the International Center for Advanced Renewable Energy and Sustainability.

West from Whitaker Hall is Scott Rudolph Hall (#104), home to the Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences in Arts & Sciences. There are 133 labs in this building, a museum devoted to this field of science, and a model of the Mars Rover! Washington University scientists and students play a major role in NASA’s mission to Mars. One of my friends spent a semester at NASA’s jet propulsion laboratory in California helping to analyze photographs of the planet.

If you look straight east, across Skinker Boulevard, you see Forest Park, which I mentioned earlier. We here at WashU like to consider Forest Park – which was recently named the top urban park in the country by USA Today/10-Best – our “front yard.” The park, at 1,371 acres, is one of the largest urban parks in the nation, and it was also the primary site for the 1904 World’s Fair. There are countless fun things to see in Forest Park, including the Saint Louis Art Museum, Missouri History Museum, Saint Louis Science Center, and Saint Louis Zoo. My friends and I spent many relaxing weekends absorbing culture at the art museum and watching the bears at the zoo. Speaking as someone familiar with the typical college student’s budget (or lack thereof), one of the best things about the attractions in Forest Park is that nearly all of them are free! The park also has public golf courses, tennis and handball courts, a 10k paved trail (where a lot of students go biking or jogging), an outdoor skating rink, and The Muny outdoor summer theater.

On the other side of Forest Park from the Danforth Campus (where we are now) is the 164-acre Medical Campus, home of the School of Medicine and the associated hospitals and institutes of the Washington University Medical Center. You can see a few of the school’s buildings over the trees in the park. Every year, many undergraduates choose to take advantage of opportunities to do research at the School of Medicine. I had friends of all majors who Washington University in St. Louis | 5

took the short MetroLink (light rail system) ride to the Medical Campus to participate in the groundbreaking research that happens every day. When you think about it, it’s pretty amazing that undergrads have the chance to work on celebrated projects such as the world-famous Human Genome Project and that they may author or co-author research papers by the time they graduate.

Speaking of the MetroLink, we have two stops right here on the Danforth Campus (one on the east end and one on the west), as well as separate MetroBus stops. All students receive a Metro pass, so it’s always free to use public transportation.

Now, it’s obviously impossible to ignore the construction area in front of you. This is a very exciting time for our campus! We’re embarking on a huge project on the east end that will result in new buildings for Engineering and the Sam Fox School, a Welcome Center, an expansion of the Kemper Art Museum, a new facility with a dining area and various other services, beautiful green spaces, and an underground parking garage. Construction began in May 2017 and is slated to be complete in 2019.

Lets make a 180-degree turn and walk straight west back into the Quad. Brookings Hall is behind you now. When we were standing under the Brookings archway—where the seal is—we were between North and South Brookings. The offices of Chancellor Mark Wrighton and Provost Holden Thorp are in North Brookings, as well as Student Financial Services. The Faculty of Arts & Sciences and the Office of Undergraduate Admissions are in South Brookings.

On the north side of the Quad (to your right if the Brookings archway is still behind you) are Beaumont Pavilion (#8) and Cupples I Hall (#23). Beaumont Pavilion is the stage area you see. In addition to being where bands play for WILD and where All-Student Theatre takes place, it is the site of Commencement ceremonies in May. Speaking of Commencement, that reminds me of one more very cool thing about Brookings and the Quad. Your WashU undergraduate career will begin and end right here in the Quad, as it’s the formal welcoming spot where the incoming class gathers after Convocation.

Then, as I mentioned, it will all come full circle four years later, as you sit here during 6 | Walking Tour

Commencement. You might have noticed the Latin inscriptions on both sides of the Brookings Arch. On the east side, it is translated as, “If you wish to learn, enter: we welcome you.” The inscription on the west façade notes the passage of time, as it’s translated to say, “The hours go by, the works remain.”

OK, back to the north side of the Quad… Behind Beaumont Pavilion is Cupples I Hall, home of the Arts & Sciences Department of Mathematics.

Washington University competes in an intercollegiate national math competition, the Putnam Mathematical Competition, consistently placing in the highest ranks against other great universities.

On the southern border of the Quad, opposite Cupples I, is Busch Hall (#18), home to several Arts & Sciences academic programs: East Asian Languages & Cultures; History; Jewish, Islamic, and Near Eastern Languages & Cultures; Linguistics; and Religious Studies. Busch Hall was the first building completed on campus more than a century ago. I had my favorite class (a European history class) in a cozy room in Busch.

Now let’s look at the western border of the Quad: the building with the arches is Ridgley Hall (#93), which houses the Arts & Sciences departments of Romance Languages & Literatures, Germanic Languages & Literatures, and Comparative Literature. Through the middle set of doors is Holmes Lounge, which served as an exposition hall for the 1904 World’s Fair.

International scholars presented academic and scientific papers there during the Fair’s Congress of Arts & Science. It was the main library on campus until 1962. The absolutely stunning Holmes Lounge is one of the most popular places to eat, lounge, or study on campus, and it’s often the site of concerts (including Jazz at Holmes each Thursday evening during the semester), receptions, and other events. It’s a regular meeting area for friends and study groups alike, and I’ve even had professors decide to conduct classes in Holmes Lounge.

Feel free to walk in if the building is open and get a cup of coffee, a gourmet wrap, or a bowl of soup— you can even sit by a warm fire in the fireplace on a cold day.

Finally, Duncker Hall (#32), located on the north end of Ridgley (between Ridgley and

Cupples I), is home to the Arts & Sciences Department of English, well-known for its past and current prominent writers and poets. We are the only university in the nation to have had two Poets Laureate of the United States associated with it. The late Howard Nemerov, twice Poet Laureate of the United States and winner of the Pulitzer Prize for poetry, was a member of the department. He loved the ginkgo trees outside of Duncker, so, upon his death, his ashes were scattered under the trees. The late Mona Van Duyn, also named Poet Laureate, was associated with our Department of English.

Additionally, acclaimed poets Carl Phillips and Mary Jo Bang are professors at Washington University.

LEAVING THE QUAD, HEADING WEST Now let’s walk the path between Duncker and Ridgley. If you’re standing with Brookings Hall behind you, take the diagonal path just to the right of the straight path (the straight path goes into Ridgley). Follow the path through the archway between Duncker and Ridgley. When you reach the end of Duncker (the building on your right), turn right and follow the diagonal pathway. Cupples II Hall (#24), on your right, is home to the College of Arts & Sciences, the Graduate School of Arts & Sciences, and the Office of Undergraduate Research, which matches students who wish to participate in research with faculty who need help on projects.

The School of Engineering is housed in four buildings to the north and east of Cupples II. (I pointed out its fifth, sixth, and seventh buildings to the northeast of Brookings Hall a little while ago.) Lopata Hall (#74), just east of Cupples II, houses the Sever Institute, which is the School of Engineering’s continuing education program for working professionals, and Stanley’s Café.

One of my favorite events on campus, Cheap Lunch, is in Lopata. EnCouncil, the School of Engineering’s student council (which recently won an award for being the best of its kind in the nation), sponsors Cheap Lunch every Wednesday. For a small price, you get pizza, a drink, and unlimited chips and cookies.

Students from all areas of the university congregate for Cheap Lunch on Wednesdays; it’s a fun time. EnCouncil also sponsors EnWeek.

During one of the activities, students compete

Busch Hall (#18)

Beaumont Pavilion (#8)

Cupples II Hall (#24)

Ridgley Hall (#93)

Cupples I Hall (#23)

Duncker Hall (#32)

Lopata Hall (#74) Washington University in St. Louis | 7

Charles F. Knight Executive Education and Conference Center (#66)

Bryan Hall (#15) Arts & Sciences Laboratory Sciences Building (#69)

George E. McMillen Laboratory for Chemistry (#80)

Anheuser-Busch Hall (#4)

McMillan Hall (#79)

Seigle Hall (#106)

Louderman Hall (#76)

Charles F. and Joanne Knight Hall (#67)

Harbison House (#55)

Ann W. Olin Women’s Building (#131) 8 | Walking Tour

Athletic Complex (#6)

George and Carol Bauer Hall (#6)

The Village (#122)

to see who can duct tape a team member to a wall and keep him or her up for the longest time!

The diagonal path we’ve been on now straightens. You can see Bryan Hall (#15) and George E. McMillen Laboratory for Chemistry (#80), set back from other buildings, on your right. Bryan Hall is undergoing renovations that are the start of a major science facilities project. Soon, Bryan Hall will contain 25,000 square feet of new research space, and the buildings will receive a facelift on the side facing Forest Park Parkway.

If you look north past the buildings, you can see the bridge that leads to the Delmar Loop. This fun area, recently named one of the 10 Great Streets in America, features ethnic restaurants, shops, student housing, a movie theater, and a concert venue, as well as the St. Louis Walk of Fame. My favorite restaurant on the Loop is Seoul Taco, a Korean-Mexican fusion spot with amazing bulgogi quesadillas – but the area also offers super tasty Indian, Chinese, Italian, Middle Eastern, Thai, and American restaurants.

The building in front of McMillen Laboratory— closer to the path—is Louderman Hall (#76), which houses classrooms and many labs for the Arts & Sciences Department of Chemistry. The university does offer some larger classes, but these usually break down into small subsections once a week. On the flip side, the smallest class the university offers is one student. So if you sign up for a class—and you’re the only one who signs up—the class may still be offered! (Or you may be able to work out an independent study opportunity.) Chancellor Wrighton holds a full professorship in the Department of Chemistry, and he has been known to occasionally guest lecture for the General Chemistry class. Before coming to Washington University, Chancellor Wrighton published eight books and more than 400 articles in the field of inorganic chemistry, and he also holds a number of patents. He had earned his PhD by the time he was 23, and he has received a number of honors and awards in his field and beyond. If you look on your map, you see Chancellor Wrighton’s house, Harbison House (#55), across Forsyth Boulevard from the main part of campus.

On your left, you will again see Olin Library.

To the west of Louderman is the Ann W. Olin Women’s Building (#131). In 1927, women at Washington University raised money for the construction of a building where they could gather. The building is home to eight sorority suites (the university’s sororities chose to have lounges instead of houses on campus), as well as the Office of the University Registrar, which maintains the academic records for all students, and a beautiful formal lounge.

Just to the west of the Women’s Building is the Arts & Sciences Laboratory Sciences Building (#69), home to a number of state-of-the-art laboratories. If you want to see one of the labs, you can find one with glass windows on the main level of this building. The Laboratory Sciences Building also has a student lounge on the upper level where chemistry students often gather for study groups and tutoring sessions.

Next, the building with the fence in front is McMillan Hall (#79). One of the gems of campus, McMillan Hall was the original women’s dormitory. Today it is home to African & AfricanAmerican Studies, American Culture Studies, Anthropology, and Women, Gender, & Sexuality Studies—all in Arts & Sciences.

Just to the west of McMillan are Charles F. and Joanne Knight Hall (#67) and George and Carol Bauer Hall (#6), two new facilities for the Olin Business School. The buildings, united by a soaring glass atrium totaling 175,000 square feet, have doubled Olin’s footprint on the Danforth Campus. Knight and Bauer are popular studying spaces, and it’s here that you’ll find the campus’ Starbucks.

Further west is the Charles F. Knight Executive Education and Conference Center (#66), also part of the Olin Business School. Although it focuses on executive education programs, the center also houses additional classrooms, lecture halls, and meeting spaces. The Knight Center even contains hotel-style suites where lecturers and executives from around the world can stay during their visits to campus. Parents are welcome to stay here, as well.

Next on this path is Anheuser-Busch Hall (#4), home to the School of Law. The hall was named as the result of a generous contribution

from the St. Louis-based Anheuser-Busch Foundation. Law school speakers have included United States Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts. Some classrooms in the law school are designed to resemble actual courtrooms, and undergraduates can participate as jurors in mock trials. Undergraduates can also work with real-world cases by participating in the Interdisciplinary Environmental Clinic, and the law library is open to both undergraduate and graduate students for studying and research. I highly recommend studying in the law school— the Janite Lee Reading Room is gorgeous, and the law school also has a good café. (Lots of buildings on campus have great cafés in them.)

Just south of Anheuser-Busch Hall, to your left, is Seigle Hall (#106), a dynamic, interdisciplinary learning center for Arts & Sciences and the law school. The departments of Economics, Political Science, and Education reside here. Former U.S. congressmen periodically teach courses on politics and the inside workings of Congress.

THE ATHLETIC COMPLEX Continuing on, we’re on our way to the Athletic Complex (#6). First, you will see Tao Tennis Center, open to members of the Washington University community and lighted for night play.

On your right is Fraternity Row. Washington University has 10 fraternities, and most of them have houses on campus. About 25 percent of the student body is involved in Greek organizations, and the university has adopted a deferred rush system, which means that students don’t join fraternities and sororities until the spring semester of their first year. This gives them more time to adapt to the university community.

Behind Fraternity Row, not visible from where we’re standing, is The Village (#122). It and the South 40 (which we’ll see later) are the primary on-campus living communities. The Village houses upperclassmen. It has its own dining hall, several classrooms, and common spaces.

My friends and I enjoyed attending the current events discussion group that a political science professor hosted in the Village every week over dinner.

With the fraternities on your right and the tennis center on your left, follow the path around and Washington University in St. Louis | 9

you will come to the Athletic Complex and Gary Sumers Recreation Center (#116). You’ll end up by the bear statue in front of the complex.

The main hub for recreation and fitness on the Danforth Campus, the Sumers Recreation Center held its grand opening in the fall of 2016.

Sumers Rec features a full assortment of cardio and strength training equipment along with a cycling studio and two group exercise studios.

Sumers Rec also has a one-tenth-mile indoor running track and a three-court gymnasium.

The lower level of the Sumers Recreation center houses WashU’s varsity locker rooms as well as a state-of-the art sports medicine suite.

Attached to Sumers Rec is the Athletic Complex, home to the Washington University Department of Intercollegiate Athletics. The “AC,” as it is affectionately known, houses the Washington University Field House — the home court for the varsity basketball and volleyball teams, as well as the site of many popular speakers and events. In addition to Convocation and select graduation ceremonies, the Field House has also been the site of four nationally televised U.S. Presidential Debates in 1992, 2000, 2004, and 2016, and the only U.S. Vice Presidential Debate in 2008. Having these debates on campus provided a wonderful opportunity for students to get involved in politics and national activities. All of the tickets given to the university for these debates were passed along to students. Students also assisted with national broadcasts of shows like Good Morning America and Hardball.

The Athletics Complex is also home to Millstone Pool (an eight-lane, 25-yard pool and diving well), along with racquetball and squash courts, recreational locker rooms, and the varsity weight room and practice gym.

Students participate in all kinds of athletics at Washington University. On the recreational side, more than 4,000 students participate in 25 intramural leagues and events each year.

Some of the most popular intramural leagues include ultimate Frisbee, flag football, soccer, basketball, and softball. Washington University also offers more than 40 sport clubs – studentrun organizations that compete against other universities – with more than 1,000 students participating annually.

10 | Walking Tour

In addition to our recreational sports offerings, Washington University sponsors 19 varsity sports, including nine men’s sports and 10 women’s sports. We are a proud member of NCAA Division III, as well a founding member of the University Athletic Association, which includes some of the best research universities (like Washington University) in the country.

As an NCAA Division III school, we do not award athletic scholarships, so the focus is on education as well as sports participation.

However, varsity sports definitely are not taken lightly. Washington University annually ranks among the top programs in the division. The Bears have won 19 National Championships in five sports over the past 25 years of competition.

It’s a lot of fun to go to varsity games!

If you continue on the path, you will see Francis Field (#37) ahead of you. Francis Field is home to the varsity football, track and field, and soccer teams. Believe it or not, the 1904 Olympics – the first Olympics in the Western Hemisphere – were held in part on Francis Field! The ornamental wrought-iron gate at the east end of the field was built in 1914 to commemorate the games. The Olympic Festival and Junior and Senior Olympics have also been held here. Surrounding the field is Bushyhead Track, an eight-lane, 400-meter track.

advertising class, and I had the chance to hear guest lectures from the creators of prominent national advertising campaigns. Through the business school, students can also participate in Investment Praxis, in which they manage a portion of the school’s endowment, and Olin Hatchery, a semester-long program where students design a business with the possibility of its being sponsored by outside entrepreneurs.

Follow the path (crossing Olympian Way), and head toward Forsyth Boulevard, the street in front of you. You soon reach the Underpass—a tunnel under Forsyth that provides a safe, convenient street crossing and doubles as a campus message center. Yes, there’s supposed to be painting and graffiti! Painting the Underpass is a tradition, with student groups signing up throughout the year for painting space to promote events and write messages to the university community. I remember that occasionally, for special events on campus, students would hand out bagels, doughnuts, and orange juice at the Underpass for everyone walking through on their way to class.

THE SOUTH 40

Now we’re going to walk to the residential area on campus, called the South 40 because it’s on 40 acres on the south of campus. Walk east along the field, and turn right at the first path.

Francis Field is now on your right; you can see the 1914 commemorative gates we just talked about. On your left is Simon Hall (#110), the third building (along with Knight and Bauer) of the Olin Business School. Olin offers one of the few first-year entry four-year undergraduate BSBA programs in the country. Inside Simon, you can see the business library, a large computer center, an auditorium, classrooms, and student lounges. Simon also houses an Einstein Bros. Bagels.

After you go through the Underpass, you see Gregg House (#54), one of the university’s 24 residence houses, on your right. By the way, all first-year students are required to live on campus. And, in my opinion, living on campus comes highly recommended—it’s a great place to live. The South 40 is modeled on a residential college plan, integrating the social and intellectual communities of the students, faculty, and staff. Faculty fellows live in the residence houses and participate as full members of the community. One of my years on campus, an Earth and Planetary Sciences professor and his family lived in a hall nearby.

They had an adorable little boy, and they were never at a loss for babysitters.

Because of the academic flexibility at Washington University, students can take classes in each of the undergraduate divisions (Arts & Sciences, Architecture, Art, Business, and Engineering) without pursuing a major or minor in those divisions. So although I did not choose a business major or minor, I took an

As you walk alongside Gregg House, notice the South 40 storefronts for student-run businesses (including bike rental, a candy shop, and laundry/dry cleaning services) and Ursa’s Café. Ursa’s features a study lounge (with a fireplace), a big-screen television, and board games. Also in Gregg is Cornerstone: The

Gary Sumers Recreation Center (#116)

Simon Hall (#110)

Francis Field (#37)

Gregg House (#54) Washington University in St. Louis | 11

Tietjens Hall (#113) and Music Classroom Building (#76)

Lien House (#71)

Dardick House (#30)

Blewett Hall (#13)

South 40 House (#113)

Umrath House (#120) 12 | Walking Tour

Alumni House (#5)

Gaylord Music Library (#39)

Center for Advanced Learning, which provides individualized and collaborative learning opportunities such as facilitated study groups, help sessions for designated courses, oneon-one mentoring, and a technology lab. The Disability Resource Center is also located in Cornerstone.

common restrooms. Both types have their advantages, for sure, but many students in traditional houses say they felt their first-year floor became closer because of the setup. The residence houses can only be entered by using an access card. (For most students, this is their university I.D.)

cappella groups, orchestras, and bands) are open to all students as well. I was not a music major or minor, but I took private music lessons, and during my four years I had wonderful opportunities to perform in Graham Chapel, Holmes Lounge, Tietjens, and in non-university sponsored competitions.

Gregg is an upperclass residence house. When you reach the south side of it (by the patio area), you see Lien House (#71), an all-first-year building. These two buildings form the Robert S. Brookings Residential College. All residence houses have laundry facilities, study areas, and 24-hour computer labs, along with Residential Computing Consultants. Our entire campus has wireless internet, and cable television is an option. All residence houses are air-conditioned, and every room has its own thermostat. Each room includes beds, dressers, desks, chairs, bookshelves, closets, and mirrors. Students can build lofts or choose to bunk the beds.

If you look between the buildings, you can see part of “the Swamp,” which is a large field (not actually a swamp). Many events take place in the Swamp, such as the Residential College Olympics, Holi (an Indian festival of colors), and many concerts and outdoor movies. The Swamp is a great place for students to play recreational sports—like sand volleyball or Ultimate Frisbee— or just gather and talk on a nice day.

When you reach the end of the sloped walkway, walk straight ahead. You will pass Simon Hall on your left, and then you will be back at the DUC, where we started.

Across from Gregg House and the landmark clock tower is the South 40 House (#113) with its environmentally friendly green roof. It offers students living on campus an abundance of dining choices — from homestyle comfort food to innovative international cuisines — as well as housing for upperclassmen. The first floor of South 40 House includes the Residential Life offices, and the South 40 Fitness Center is on the second floor.

Umrath House (#120) is located west of the South 40 House. A home for some first-year students, it also houses the First Year Center, which is an office dedicated solely to supporting our first-year students during their transition to college and beyond, and Bear Necessities, a nonprofit store that funds student scholarships.

From the clock tower, you can see many of the South 40 residence houses. Both first-year and mixed-class residence houses are on the South 40, and students can choose among a variety of living options (singles, doubles, triples, suites).

The South 40 offers both modern and traditional residence houses. In modern houses, most room layouts consist of two double rooms (although there are also some single and triple rooms) adjoined by a restroom. Traditional houses have single, double, and triple room options on each floor, and each floor community shares

As you look west, the last building on the street is Dardick House (#30), part of Wayman Crow Residential College and home of the Habif Health and Wellness Center. Consolidated in one facility are medical, health promotion, and counseling services.

Now let’s walk back up the path toward the Underpass. The building on your right along the path is Alumni House (#5), which is home to many university events and serves as a contact point between Washington University and our vast network of alumni.

Thanks for taking the tour, and I’m so glad you’re interested in Washington University! Please don’t hesitate to contact the Office of Undergraduate Admissions with any questions.

- WHITNEY Washington University graduate

(with contributions from Brad, Craig, Emily, Katie, Sandra, Tosha, Jordan, Mark, and other Washington University undergraduate students)

RETURNING TO THE CENTER OF CAMPUS Head through the Underpass again, and take the path that veers to the right. At the top of the walkway, if you look to your right (across Forsyth), you see the music complex. Tietjens Hall (#113) and Blewett Hall (#13) are home to the Department of Music in Arts & Sciences.

Practice rooms are located in Tietjens. Although hard to see from across the street, the Music Classroom Building (#76) adjacent to Tietjens, with classrooms and private studios, is the latest addition to the music complex. The Gaylord Music Library (#39), on the east side of the complex, has an extensive selection of sheet music and recordings.

Instrumental and voice lessons are available to all students for credit through the Department of Music. The university’s numerous performing groups (including choirs, an opera group, a Washington University in St. Louis | 13

Office of Undergraduate Admissions Washington University in St. Louis Campus Box 1089 | One Brookings Drive | St. Louis, MO 63130-4899 800.638.0700 | 314.935.6000 admissions.wustl.edu | admissions@wustl.edu