A Crowded Campus

The influx of thousands of veterans at Syracuse University resulted in the “GI Bulge” and an immediate demand for housing. To fill the need for buildings, the University arranged with the United States War Department to purchase surplus housing units made available to colleges with large veteran enrollments. Three hundred crated buildings arrived in May 1946 from California, 200 of which were used for housing.

Temporary Student Housing

Temporary housing peppered the landscape. A barracks camp called Collendale on the north side of East Colvin Street housed over 500 students. Across Colvin at the former University Farm (now Skytop and Slocum Heights) were 600 military-style housing units, including wooden two-family houses and one-story barracks for multiple families. In an apple orchard at Drumlins, across the street from the present Tecumseh Elementary School, married students stayed in 175 trailers. Single students lived in metal buildings where Manley Field House is now located, as well as on the hill at South Crouse Avenue and Irving Avenue. Until the new housing was ready on campus, students lived all over the Greater Syracuse area, including the New York State Fairgrounds, Baldwinsville Ordinance Works, and the Army Air Base at Mattydale.

Photograph of the barn at the Army Air Base in Mattydale, which housed 100 Syracuse University veteran students, September 1946. Syracuse University Photograph Collection, University Archives.

Veteran students housed at places such as the Baldwinsville Ordinance Works and the Army Air Base at Mattydale were transported by bus to campus. Painted blue and orange, the buses were quickly nicknamed “Blue Beetles.”

Photograph of Red Cross staff serving meals at the Army Air Base in Mattydale on the first night of veteran students’ arrival, 1946. Syracuse University Photograph Collection, University Archives.

Letter from Frank Piskor, Dean of Men, and L.W. Crawford, Housing Service, to students assigned to “Emergency Housing,” September 10, 1946. Attilio Mascone Papers, University Archives. Gift of Attilio Mascone.

Photograph of barracks at East Colvin Street in Collendale, circa 1940s. Syracuse University Photograph Collection, University Archives.

Photograph of single students sharing living space in temporary housing in Collendale, circa late 1940s. Syracuse University Photograph Collection, University Archives.

Photograph of the Quonseteria, 1947. Syracuse University Photograph Collection, University Archives.

Arguably the most prominent temporary structure was the Quonseteria, a dining hall on Comstock Avenue near the corner of Colvin Street. Erected in 1947, the Quonseteria served meals for South Campus residents and provided study and recreational space. The name for the structure was coined by Andrew Cisternino ’48, G’51, who garnered a $10 prize in a competition. Later the Food Service Bake Shop, a store room, Microbiology and Biochemistry Center, and wrestling team headquarters, it was demolished in the 1980s.

Photograph of the view down to Comstock Avenue, including temporary housing and the Quonseteria, circa late 1940s. Syracuse University Photograph Collection, University Archives. Photograph by C. Wesley Brewster.

The Colony, the Collendale Residents Association newsletter, May 15, 1950. Syracuse University Office of Vice Chancellor Finla Crawford Records, University Archives.

Photograph of trailers at Drumlins Trailer Park, circa late 1940s. Syracuse University Photograph Collection, University Archives.

Photograph of the interior of a trailer, part of the married student housing at Drumlins, 1946. Syracuse University Photograph Collection, University Archives. Photograph by C. Wesley Brewster.

Trailers at Drumlins were 7 x 22 feet, just enough space for a couch with a hideaway bed, eating alcove and small kitchen. In the spring, the snow turned the trailer camp to a muddy mess, and residents called it “Mud Hollow.”

“General Site Plan of the Syracuse University Veteran’s Trailer Camp at Drumlins Country Club,” December 31, 1945. Syracuse University Office of Vice Chancellor Finla Crawford Records, University Archives. Plan by N.A. Rotunno, Landscape Architect.

Cover of Alumni News, July 1946. Syracuse University Alumni Reference Collection, University Archives.

Photograph of the Veterans’ Co-op Food Store in Drumlins Trailer Park, 1946. Syracuse University Photograph Collection, University Archives. Photograph by the Federal Works Agency.

Photograph of interior of the Veterans’ Co-op Food Store, 1946. Syracuse University Photograph Collection, University Archives. Photograph by C. Wesley Brewster.

Veteran students opened their own cooperative store to serve families in the Drumlins Trailer Park. The University furnished the building and materials for shelves. The Co-op provided fresh vegetables and fruits, cosmetics, and other groceries. The clerk in this photo, Frances Marvin, and the customer, Charlotte Gates, were both wives of veteran students at Syracuse University.

Photograph of Drumlins Trailer Park, circa late 1940s. Syracuse University Photograph Collection, University Archives. Photograph by the Federal Works Agency.

Blueprint, “2-Family Unit, Metal Housing,” September 25, 1947. Syracuse University Office of Vice Chancellor Finla Crawford Records, University Archives. Blueprint plan by Daniel B. O’Brien Corporation.

“100 Married Vets Apply for Temporary Dwellings,” Daily Orange, November 20, 1945. Daily Orange Collection, University Archives.

Aerial photograph of married student housing on the University Farm, 1946. Syracuse University Photograph Collection, University Archives. Photograph by C. Wesley Brewster.

In the foreground of this image are army barracks converted into apartments; behind them are demountable buildings containing two apartments each.

Photograph of temporary housing at the University Farm, 1946. Syracuse University Photograph Collection, University Archives. Photograph by C. Wesley Brewster.

Temporary Classrooms

The University also set up multiple temporary buildings — 40 classrooms and 20 labs as well as studio and office space — around campus. Some were placed behind Crouse College with others constructed near Bowne, Sims, Slocum, and Machinery Halls. Despite the additional classrooms, faculty and students — veteran or not — still faced overcrowded classes.

Photograph of prefabricated barracks, war surplus property from California, for classroom use at Syracuse University, circa 1946. Syracuse University Photograph Collection, University Archives.

Photograph of temporary classroom units being built in Crouse College parking lot, July 1946. Syracuse University Photograph Collection, University Archives. Photograph by C. Wesley Brewster.

Photograph of a journalism class in Prefab 32, a temporary classroom building, circa early 1950s. Syracuse University Photograph Collection, University Archives.

Photograph of temporary classrooms behind Crouse College, circa late 1940s. Syracuse University Photograph Collection, University Archives.

Photograph of a geography class in a prefabricated building, circa 1950s. Syracuse University Photograph Collection, University Archives.

Photograph of the School of Fine Arts temporary classroom building, circa early 1950s. Syracuse University Photo & Imaging Collection, University Archives.

“My classes were filled to overflowing with former corporals and sergeants, captains and colonels,” recalls William Fleming, centennial professor emeritus of fine arts. “The seats, aisles, and floors were wall-to-wall students right up to the place where I was standing. I had to spell out the names of artists and composers because I could not get to the blackboard to write them down.” -Alexandra Eyle, “Once the War Was Over,” Syracuse University Magazine, February 1987