Oberlin College - Hi-O-Hi Yearbook (Oberlin, OH)

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LOBBY The lVlen's Building Fox yiilxies the college president has -dreamed, the local Y. M. C. A. secre- taries have written many-paged arguments, the college men themselves have looked on into the future and hoped, and everyone has gone on from year to year and waited. This year, dreams have come true, arguments have become need- less, hopings have been satisfied and the waiting has been rewarded, for the Mcn's Building is here. ln actual stone and mortar it stands upon our campus, adding-its massive exterior to the northern skyline. .lf this new building, without which Oberlin has grown and increased from year to year, were to be suddenly taken from our life here now, it would be almost impossible for the men to drop back into the old life, such as it was, before the building came. lt has already, in the few months of its existence, become a vital and a necessary part of the life ot the men here. .lt has satisfied the pent up desires of the men for whole genera- tions, and it has made for itself a place in the college life which could hardly be filled were our college life to be suddenly deprived of it. Its two hundred foot facade, reaching out west of the chapel and north of the gymnasium, adds a touch of real splendor to that section of the campus. Its red tile roof and gray stone walls make an artistic addition to the landscape, and the spacious approach and well-designed steps and porch give a feeling of roominess and freedom before one even enters. As one enters the lobby, with its marble pillars and mosaic Hoor, with its lounging chairs and luxurious settees, this feeling of roo1niness and comfortable freedom is strengthened. The interior of the lobby is as impressive as the ex- terior of the building. Everything suggests simplicity, yet at the same time taste- fulness and stability. The lighting fixtures, the furniture, the walls, the beautiful 11

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5 11- -, ' -- . ,,-'LQ '5' -4 -'- L- . : h' J-e,,.-. . , . . W -T -V 141 .-.-v- QQ.. ' L an! ' Rx S 5.- C f '., v THE MEN'S BUILDING

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BILLIARD AND POOL ROOM stairway, the large college seal over the assembly hall entrance, all have been chosen and supplied without sham or thought of display. Here in this atmosphere of simple beauty and comfort, the men lounge, and make friendships. Here they meet with one another and while away the hours of legitimate laziness. The large green marble hre-places at either end of the lobby are inviting and cozy, and the ingle nook seats a1'e places of tempting softness and ease. Down in the basement, with cement floors and tastily decorated walls, are the dining room, barber shop, kitchen, wash room, billiard and pool roo1n and the bowling alleys. These latter have done a great deal toward furnishing the men of the college with a clean and efficient rendezvous for pleasure and recreation. Within the first two months that the building was in use, nearly three hundred different men used the billiard and pool room. The bowling alleys are no less popular and are patronized appreciatively by the men. The equipment for these rooms is the best that could be obtained and the investment is being fully justified every day by the men who frequent the rooms. On the main floor are the assembly hall, the Y. M. C. A. rooms, the library, the game room, the study room, the writing room, and the ladies' room, in addition to the spacious lobby. The assembly 'hall is one of the prettiest rooms in the building. It has a high burlap wainscoting on the walls and the ceiling is finished in the bare beams which show up handsomely against the white plaster, This room has a movable platform and the chairs are such as can be folded and carried out of the way in case the room is needed for a reception or some other function. Here the association meetings will be held, and also the intersociety 12