As vintage tunes wafted across the East Campus Quadrangle Sunday, Duke students and alumni alike browsed through photo albums and yearbooks.
The occasion was a birthday celebration, but an unconventional one. Sunday afternoon's festivities marked the 80th anniversary of the construction of 11 East Campus buildings, including six residence halls: Alspaugh, Bassett, Brown, Pegram, Giles and Wilson dormitories. Gilbert-Addoms Residence Hall, completed in 1957, celebrated its 50th birthday.
"It's helpful to remember that this was Duke University for five years," Associate University Archivist Tom Harkins said, referring to the time, between 1925 and 1930, when West Campus was not yet constructed. The Duke University Archives provided many of the historical photos on display for the event, he added.
The pavilion in the center of the quad was festooned with historical costumes and balloons. As cakes for each dorm were served, curious students began to gather and peruse the decades-old yearbooks on display.
"It was wonderfully themed," said freshman Molly Cooper, a Bassett resident.
In addition to Duke students and faculty, local alumni and neighborhood residents paid visits to East.
"The party was a good thing to do for campus-neighborhood relations," said Susan Gurley, a Trinity Park resident and a medical instructor in nephrology.
Charles Sheets, who recently moved to Durham, noted that he was surprised "how open East Campus is to the neighborhood."
As the celebration, organized by Residence Life and Housing Services, progressed, former students fondly reminisced about their time spent at Duke.
Alumni and current freshmen discussed methods for accessing the famed steam tunnels under East, rivalries between dorms and even a decades-old scheme to scale the dome of Baldwin Auditorium.
Coralynn Harward, Woman's '46, lived in both Alspaugh and Giles.
"Boys weren't allowed to come in the dorms," she said, remembering the period from 1930 to 1972 when East housed only female students. "The buildings haven't changed at all."
Freshman Lindsey Arthur, who lives in Randolph Residence Hall, a more recently constructed building, was unsure about the condition of the older halls.
"They're very nice, on the outside," she said. "But Randolph is definitely better."
The birthday celebration was a success, said Lisa Beth Bergene, East's assistant dean for residence life.
"For being a hot, gross afternoon it went well.... I thought there would be a few more, but the ones who came enjoyed it," she said. "I think people learned something today about Duke's history."
Freshman Marni Siegel said she believes instituting more student traditions would increase interest in the University's past.
"Duke's not as old as some other prestigious colleges, so something like this is good for our school," Siegel added.
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