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 28,000 images from KU’s University Archives and made them available online; be sure to check them out!

Student housing at KU sure has changed in one hundred years!

Female students in their room, 1912. University Archives Photos.
Call Number: RG 71/0 1912 Prints: Student Activities (Photos).
Click image to enlarge (redirect to Spencer’s digital collections).

A KU student’s decorated room, 1911. University Archives Photos.
Call Number: RG 71/0 1911 Negatives: Student Activities (Photos).
Click image to enlarge (redirect to Spencer’s digital collections).

This week’s photos were likely taken at Lawrence rooming-houses or private residences, as Corbin Hall, the first dormitory on campus, did not open until 1923. A KU History article about the residence hall summarizes the housing situation KU students encountered in the early decades of the university’s history.

While it’s hard to imagine now, originally there were no University-owned dormitories for students at the University of Kansas. During KU’s early years, housing was catch-as-catch-can, with many of the students in attendance usually hailing from the surrounding area. As such, many lived at home, or with faculty, or in other private residences.

But by the turn of the twentieth century, with more out-of-towners descending on Lawrence every year, the KU housing situation was becoming increasingly dire. This was particularly the case for women students. (Men generally had an easier time finding and retaining residential quarters since it was widely surmised male students had no need of “creature comforts,” and could stay more or less anywhere.)

Forced to fend for themselves when it came to securing room and board, KU women students met with opposition from boardinghouse owners, parents, and others overly concerned about the special issues that women faced in terms of the moral and social order. As such, women were put in the position of securing quarters that were acceptable not only to themselves, but also to their parents or guardians.

Caitlin Donnelly
Head of Public Services

Melissa Kleinschmidt 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 28,000 images from KU’s University Archives and made them available online; be sure to check them out!

Two female students at Watson Library, 1959.
University Archives Photos. Call Number: RG 32/0 1959 Negatives:
University of Kansas Libraries (Photos).
Click image to enlarge (redirect to Spencer’s digital collections).

Caitlin Donnelly
Head of Public Services

Melissa Kleinschmidt 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 28,000 images from KU’s University Archives and made them available online; be sure to check them out!

The press box at the brand-new – and still incomplete – Memorial Stadium, 1921.
Gift of Robert L. Gilbert (BA ’23), June 1974. University Archives Photos.
Call Number: RG 0/22/53 1921 Prints: Campus: Buildings:
Memorial Stadium (Photos). Click image to enlarge.

Caitlin Donnelly
Head of Public Services

Melissa Kleinschmidt 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 28,000 images from KU’s University Archives and made them available online; be sure to check them out!

We’re excited for Saturday and the beginning of a new season of KU football!

Facilities Operations workers paint a Jayhawk on the field at Memorial Stadium, 1980s.
University Archives Photos. Call Number: RG 0/22/53 1980s: Prints:
Campus: Buildings: Memorial Stadium (Photos). Click image to enlarge.

Caitlin Donnelly
Head of Public Services

Melissa Kleinschmidt 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 28,000 images from KU’s University Archives and made them available online; be sure to check them out!

We hope this week’s photo helps inspire you to celebrate National Dog Day tomorrow!

Dr. James Naismith with two puppies during a trip to Canada, undated.
University Archives Photos. Call Number: RG 66/22 James Naismith:
Athletic Department: Coaches and Staff (Photos).
Click image to enlarge (redirect to Spencer’s digital collections).

Caitlin Donnelly
Head of Public Services

Melissa Kleinschmidt and Abbey Ulrich
Public Services Student Assistants