La Salle University - Explorer Yearbook (Philadelphia, PA)

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1 j La Salle at 20th and Olney Half a Century of College Life As the years after the war faded, people in the United States were caught in an ever-expanding prosperity. Jobs were plentiful, money and food abundant, most Americans were content . . . Every- thing looked positive as the inflated ball of prosperity bounced higher and higher. How could anyone, even those whose fiscal resources were thin, hesitate to take the great plunge into investment, especially for expansion and improvement? Such was the prevailing attitude as La Salle College took its plunge to- ward destiny by seeking a new and larger campus. Conceived in Crisis Thomas J. Donaghy

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An aerial view of the campus before the construction of Olney Hall

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For La Salle students, the years spent at 20th and Olney are a personal experience. Our view is limited by the brevity of our stay here. Looking upon the buildings and the campus, we feel a sense of constancy — of permanence. The La Salle we know is fixed in tradition. However, from a historical perspective. La Salle College at 20t h and Olney, on its fiftieth birthday, is still in those impressionable years: an age at which tradition does not yet impede progress and at which the students, faculty, and administration are still working toward the ideal La Salle. So, on the fiftieth anniversary of La Salle ' s ■plunge toward destiny, the eventful stages of the college ' s journey take on greater significance. In 1925, the mood of the nation - and of La Salle College - was confident. Plans for renovating old 1240 on North Broad Street were discarded and negotiations for the land at 20th Street and Olney Avenue began. Final settlement for the property was made on October 11, 1926, and soon afterwards construction started. The financial optimism of the Christian Brothers was shattered a short time later by negotiation difficulties and a nationwide economic collapse. As a result, college students were not moved from 1240 to 20th and Olney until February 5, 1930. A staggering debt and construction problems clouded the future, but the new campus opened new horizons. Numerous activities which has been struggling for survival or had never been considered thrived at 20th and Olney. The Collegian, for example, first appearing in May of 1931, has grown nd prospered despite depression, expansion, and controversy. Up to this time, college newspapers had had a traditionally short history at La Salle (as evidenced by the La SalJe Advance, the Argosy, the Budget, the Go-Getter, the Quadrangle, and the Acorn). La Salle ' s first football team kicked off in October of 1932. For ten years La Salle ' s football program remained in operation — including one undefeated season! But when the student population fell dramatically as a result of World War II, the sport was abandoned and never revived. In 1935, the first fraternity at La Salle was founded - Sigma Phi Lambda. The early years also saw the establishment of a law club, a history club, a debating society, and a pre-med society. And in 1940, for the very first time, the faces and events of a school year were captured in the first publication of the Explorer.