Kenneth Spencer Research Library

Each week we’ll be posting a photograph from University Archives that shows a scene from KU’s past. We’ve also scanned more than 27,700 images from KU’s University Archives and made them available online; be sure to check them out!

Summer session physical education department faculty and students, 1930s.
Phog Allen and James Naismith are standing in the second row, second and third from the left.
University Archives Photos. Call Number: RG 20/9 1930s: School of Education:
Department of Health, Physical Education, and Recreation (Photos).
Click image to enlarge (redirect to Spencer’s digital collections).

Caitlin Donnelly
Head of Public Services

Melissa Kleinschmidt, Megan Sims, and Abbey Ulrich
Public Services Student Assistants

Each week we’ll be posting a photograph from University Archives that shows a scene from KU’s past. We’ve also scanned more than 27,000 images from KU’s University Archives and made them available online; be sure to check them out!

Pools are now open across Lawrence, so this week’s photograph shows a time when swimming at Potter Lake was a popular summertime activity.

Diving into Potter Lake, 1912. Strong Hall is visible in the background,
on the top of Mount Oread. University Archives Photos.
Call Number: RG 0/24/1 Potter Lake 1912 Negatives:
Campus: Areas and Objects (Photos). Click image to enlarge.

You can see two other early images of swimmers and diving boards at Potter Lake – one from the 1910s and another from 1926 – in the University Archives online photograph collection.

Caitlin Donnelly
Head of Public Services

Melissa Kleinschmidt, Megan Sims, and Abbey Ulrich
Public Services Student Assistants

Each week we’ll be posting a photograph from University Archives that shows a scene from KU’s past. We’ve also scanned more than 27,000 images from KU’s University Archives and made them available online; be sure to check them out!

In honor of Memorial Day, this week’s post highlights one of the war memorials on the KU campus.

The road that became Memorial Drive, 1940s. In the background is Bailey Hall,
which used to have chimneys along its roof. University Archives Photos.
Call Number: RG 0/24/1 Memorial Drive 1940s Prints: Campus: Areas and Objects (Photos).
Click image to enlarge (redirect to Spencer’s digital collections).

A couple walking along an undeveloped Memorial Drive, 1940s.
They are near the west side of Snow Hall, shown in the background;
Jayhawk Boulevard is off the right side of the picture. University Archives Photos.
Call Number: RG 0/24/1 Memorial Drive 1940s Prints: Campus: Areas and Objects (Photos).
Click image to enlarge (redirect to Spencer’s digital collections).

Caitlin Donnelly
Head of Public Services

Melissa Kleinschmidt, Megan Sims, and Abbey Ulrich
Public Services Student Assistants

Each week we’ll be posting a photograph from University Archives that shows a scene from KU’s past. We’ve also scanned more than 27,000 images from KU’s University Archives and made them available online; be sure to check them out!

Students sitting at the east entrance of Strong Hall, 1950s.
University Archives Photos. Call Number: RG 0/22/87 1950s Prints:
Campus: Buildings: Strong Hall (Photos).
Click image to enlarge (redirect to Spencer’s digital collections).

Caitlin Donnelly
Head of Public Services

Melissa Kleinschmidt, Megan Sims, and Abbey Ulrich
Public Services Student Assistants

Each week we’ll be posting a photograph from University Archives that shows a scene from KU’s past. We’ve also scanned more than 27,000 images from KU’s University Archives and made them available online; be sure to check them out!

It’s finals week at KU, which means that most students will soon be leaving campus for the summer, many heading home. We selected today’s photograph with this in mind; it comes from a scrapbook created by former KU student Mayrea Noyes, which we highlighted previously for Valentine’s Day.

Mayrea Noyes with friends in a photograph she captioned “Homeward Bound.”
It may have been taken during the fall semester, 1910. Based on another photo
in the scrapbook and information from the KU Student Directory, the girls may have been
standing at 1414 Tennessee, where Mayrea lived during the 1910-1911 academic year.
Mayrea Noyes Scrapbook, University Archives. Call Number: SB 71/99 Noyes. Click image to enlarge.

Caitlin Donnelly
Head of Public Services

Melissa Kleinschmidt, Megan Sims, and Abbey Ulrich
Public Services Student Assistants