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 34,800 images from KU’s University Archives and made them available online; be sure to check them out!

View of campus looking south along Oread Avenue, 1890s. University Archives
Photos. Call Number: RG 0/24/P 1890s Prints: Campus: Panoramas (Photos).
Click image to enlarge (redirect to Spencer’s digital collections).

From left to right are Spooner Hall, Old Blake Hall, Old Fraser Hall (roughly where modern Fraser Hall is located), and Old Snow Hall. Also visible is Marvin Grove – the area of trees on the right side of the photo. The empty area on the right is where Dyche Hall and the Kansas Union now stand.

Caitlin Donnelly
Head of Public Services

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 34,800 images from KU’s University Archives and made them available online; be sure to check them out!

Jayhawk Boulevard looking east, 1915. University Archives Photos.
Call Number: RG 0/24/P 1915 Prints: Campus: Panoramas (Photos).
Click image to enlarge (redirect to Spencer’s digital collections).

The photo was likely taken from Marvin Hall.

The buildings from left to right are Strong (east wing only), Bailey, Old Fraser, Old Snow, and Old Haworth. Old Robinson Gymnasium and the Fowler Shops are also visible behind Haworth, to the right. Zoom in and look closely to see a campus streetcar.

Caitlin Donnelly
Head of Public Services

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 34,500 images from KU’s University Archives and made them available online; be sure to check them out!

It’s a snowy day on Mount Oread, so this week’s photo shows what a snow-covered KU looked like roughly one hundred years ago.

View of campus, covered in snow, looking south, 1915.
From left to right are Spooner Hall (then Spooner Library), Dyche Hall,
Green (now Lippincott) Hall, Old Fraser Hall, Chemistry Hall, Old Snow Hall,
Bailey Hall, Strong Hall, Robinson Gymnasium, Old Haworth Hall, and
Marvin Hall. Potter Lake is also visible. University Archives Photos.
Call Number: RG 0/24/1 Snow 1915 Prints: Campus: Areas and Objects (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 29,500 images from KU’s University Archives and made them available online; be sure to check them out!

It’s Homecoming week at KU, and a sentiment expressed in 1925 still rings true today: “Welcome grads, we’re glad you’re here!”

Homecoming welcome sign in front of Old Fraser Hall, 1925.
Old Snow Hall, which was located roughly in the area that is now
Watson Library’s front lawn, is in the background. University Archives Photos.
Call Number: RG 71/1 1925 Prints: Student Activities: Homecoming (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 13,800 images from KU’s University Archives and made them available online; be sure to check them out!

Girls gym class, 1893. This is the only known photograph of the basement of
Old Snow Hall, where basketball was first played on campus. University Archives Photos.
Call Number: RG 20/9 1893: School of Education: Health, Physical Education (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