Buildings at PSU

This may be another indication that I have no life outside of school.

This quarter was a new experience for me. The PSU campus is large and has a wide range of building ages and styling, some more interesting than others. A campus map is here (opens in a new window). I get off the Max green line train at the PSU Bookstore. I walked about two blocks to get to my first class.

This term I started my mornings on the second floor of Cramer Hall in my regulatory economics class. It's a solid but uninspiring 5-story design (with sky-bridges to other buildings! That part is kind of neat) that was built in three stages between 1955 and 1970. The Economics Department offices are located here. This is one of the core buildings that border the Park Blocks.

Cramer Hall

My second class was the next building over, Lincoln Hall and is basically on the northern border of the campus but still bordering the Park Blocks. This building has its own Wikipedia page. It was built in 1912 as a high school and became a part of PSU in the mid 1950's. Its mostly occupied by the Music department. It is a much grander building is a lot more fun to look at than the typical campus building. This is where I had my Environmental Ethics class on the third floor.

 Lincoln Hall

I almost always went to the Smith Memorial Student Union to eat my lunch during this quarter. There are several areas with tables and some outlets for laptops (wireless wi-fi covers most of the campus I think). There is a small food court where I sometimes bought a bag of chips. A couple of times, I ate at some of the outside vendors who have small food carts right outside. The quality varied and was a little pricier than you could get a few blocks away, but was not bad overall. I've spent a few afternoons on the second floor studying, reading, or even sleeping a couple of times. The Student Union is located on the south side of Cramer Hall on the Park Blocks and is the hub of the campus. It dates from between 1956 and 1963 and is a little more interesting because of the large windowed areas. It houses a lot of the student services. Apparently there is a bowling alley in the basement.

Smith Memorial Student Union

My last class of the day is in the far southeast corner of campus. There isn't a whole lot going on here. I don't care much for the building. My class is on the second floor of the University Technology Services building, across the hall from the military science department. This class was added late because of the demand for a third microeconomics class during registration. I guess they didn't have anywhere else to put it. The classroom was nice and had comfortable chairs and tables, unlike the too-small-for-my-fat-gut individual chair things in the other classes. It was built in 1974 and is OK looking, but dated. There used to be a Unitas Bank here on the ground floor, but they moved out sometime earlier. There are a bunch of food carts a block over, but I didn't eat at any of them this term.

University Technology Services Bldg.

The coming winter term I will start on the third floor of the University Center Building, about 2 blocks south of my Max stop. I don't know much about this building. It was aquired by PSU in 1999 and is mostly used as office space and has the student health services on the first floor. I'm taking my Behavioral Economics class here on Mondays and Wednesdays

University Center Building

My second class (Monday, Wednesday, and the only class I have on Friday)  starts 15 minutes after the end of the first one on the third floor of Neuberger Hall, two block away. This building is next to the Student Union and is on the Park Blocks. This building is ugly. One of the worst on campus. It was built in 1960 and 1966. Blah.

Neuberger Hall

 For my Tuesday and Thursday class I'll be on the second floor of Shattuck Hall. This is another old and much more interesting looking building, just to the south of Neuberger and is also on the Park Blocks. It started as an elementary school in 1915 and has been a part of PSU since 1969. They did a recent remodel on parts of it. My Energy Economics class will be here. The picture doesn't do justice to the real thing. It's classic early 20th century institutional learning facility.

Shattuck Halls