fun NAU findings

As many close to me know, I enjoy local history; even the smallest details interest me. I recently spent a research appointment at special collections going over the documentation from NAU's historic district application from 1981. This includes descriptions, photos, and more.

Some interesting factoids from that day:

The swimming pool in Riles (which used to be the Women's Gymnasium) was in the basement, and was pretty damn small.
- For some reason tour guides who mention this say all sorts of nonsense on where it was so it's nice to have been able to confirm
The giant "A" on the roof of Old Main above the entrance was still there in 1981, and was likely there until the 1989 renovation. This is kind of crazy because it was put there when it was Arizona State College and it changed to NAU in 1967. They kept it around for a long time.
Ashurst auditorium was ruined in 1959. The large auditorium/ballroom space was turned into a music hall which consisted of creating private practice rooms along the sides, making the auditorium much smaller, and adding a third floor of practice rooms as well.
- They added the ugliest concrete stairs outside of the building and bricked up the gorgeous 11-foot windows since the height was split between floors. They also bricked up the beautiful large window.
- The 1989 renovation reversed this thankfully and it is back to its gorgeous self, although the large window was never brought back.
They sadly did not document the before/after of the 1989 renovation of Old Main & Ashurst which I think is a huge loss. It is very difficult to see what it looked like inside before.

Otherwise, there were lots of fun photos of North Quad buildings from 1981 and before. Email me and I may be able to send over some. Cheers.