A Changed Campus Landscape

The dramatic enrollment of veterans on campus between 1945 and 1950 resulted in significant changes to the landscape of Syracuse University. Not only were there simply more students (mostly male) in attendance, but temporary buildings — both classroom and student housing — sprang up all around campus and the surrounding areas. These aerial photographs and maps illustrate the physical impact of the “GI Bulge” years at Syracuse University.

Aerial photographs of Syracuse University’s main campus, circa 1939 (left) and circa 1950 (right). Syracuse University Photograph Collection, University Archives.

These two aerial photographs — taken eleven years apart — illustrate the effect the influx of World War II veterans made on the Syracuse University campus. Upon careful examination of the 1950 photograph, one can see temporary classrooms nested in multiple places on the main campus. Note the prefabricated buildings behind Crouse College (top center) with others near Slocum and Machinery Halls (lower right) as well as Sims Hall (lower left) and Bowne Hall and Carnegie Library (left). There are differences with two other buildings in the 1950 photograph. By that year, a much-needed dining hall addition in Sims Hall had been completed. You may also notice that Archbold Gymnasium (below Archbold Stadium, top left) appears to be under construction. This is because the building was almost completely destroyed by fire in January 1947. Reconstruction started in the spring of 1948 and was not finished until 1952.

Aerial photograph of Syracuse University’s south campus, main campus, the City of Syracuse and Lake Onondaga, between 1947 and 1949. Syracuse University Photograph Collection, University Archives. Photograph by Robinson Aerial Surveys, Inc.

Aerial photograph of Syracuse University’s main campus, between 1947 and 1949. Syracuse University Photograph Collection, University Archives. Photograph by Robinson Aerial Surveys, Inc.

Aerial photograph of Syracuse University’s south campus, including the temporary housing in Collendale, early 1950s. Syracuse University Photograph Collection, University Archives.

Map, “University Temporary Housing and Recreation Area,” September 1949. Syracuse University Buildings and Grounds Collection, University Archives. Map by the Office of N.A. Rotunno, Landscape Architect.

Map, “Syracuse University and Environs,” September 1949. Syracuse University Buildings and Grounds Collection, University Archives. Map by the Office of N.A. Rotunno, Landscape Architect.