Thanks for the sober update Sean. I didn't realize that my former Sophomore and Junior homes on South Green were leveled. I already feel like an old man telling neighborhood kids familiar with dorm life about non-air conditioned rooms in spring quarter, which went until June and winter time dorm rooms which were either too hot or too cold.

Remember when the "new south" dorms did not have names? They were numbered. To figure out which building you wanted to go to, you started at the clock tower and counted buildings until you reached your number.

I lived in Hoover in 1977, my freshman year. Then spent the next two years on the East Green, my favorite area.

Lincoln, at the bottom of Jeff Hill.

Was just looking at a listing of Residence Halls on O.U.'s website.

They include Bryan,Voigt and Scott Quad in the East Green.

When I was at O.U. in the mid 70's ,Bryan and Voigt were considered on the College Green.

Scott Quad was kind of like "no man's land".

I'm pretty sure we've covered this in year(s) past, and I'm guessing it's all about $$, but I'm still head scratching a bit about tearing down buildings built in the 70s. My home is around 120 years old, my previous one was ~130, and I remember conversations talking to Mike Johnson about places in Europe that are 600 or so old. Oh well. Hope the ones they build next aren't huge POS that these apparently were.

Smith/Aktinson were my Freshman/Sophomore dorms. I'm assuming they're on the hit-list also.

Your memory is good, Ben. In the village of Ribeauville in eastern France I've stayed many times in a home built in 1513 and it is far fr0m the oldest building in the village. My favorite hotel in the world is in Colmar,France and was built in 1609.

McBin, Rpbobcat, Mike Johnson, Ohio Cat Fan et al. Don't get me started; Oxford (the real deal in the old country) has buildings still standing that were there when Edwards I (Longshanks) ruled England (some 750-800 years ago.) Yet, we tear down buildings that were built when Nixon was president a mere 45 years ago. It is not as if Oxford hasn't had a flood or two in the last 750-800 years either!

This all leads to another topic about bloated capital expenditures and exorbitant salaries for a few deans, but not for the rank and file--faculty and staff. I wonder if Governor Kasich and his predecessor Governor Strickland ever pondered why university deans made more than them, let alone university presidents. The fact that Urban Meyer makes about 10-20 x what they make is really ridiculous. However, that's probably best saved for another conversation.

Ewing, Howard and Super were not torn down to rebuild, but because of short-sighted panic due to the large enrollment declines of the early to mid '70s. It was almost criminal in my book. And, don't get me started on the tearing down of the Berry Hotel!

I went to O.U. after they moved the Hocking River.
I never saw the area where the dorms are on New South flood.

There have been a number of stories in The Post about severe flooding,in the area around Peden.Based on the severity and duration of that flooding,I can see those types of floods affecting the ground floors of the New South dorms.

I also looked up the FEMA FIRM Flood Maps for Athens.
They're hard to read,even when "zoomed",but it looks like the New South is still located in a 100 year Flood Zone.

The issue of the South Green being "wet" brought a couple of more things to mind.
(Engineers love this stuff)

Being close to the Hocking,there's going to be high ground water,especially in the spring and fall.
That alone can cause foundation damage.

An additional problem is the underlying soil.
The Post had articles this year about the problems with settlement at Ping,due to the underlying soil being clay.

Clay,in and of itself has stability issues.
Clay acts like a sponge,so add in groundwater and now you have a building sitting on jello.

World travels have caused me to conclude that regional or local cultures greatly influence preserve versus raze.

When Europeans first arrived in what we now know as the U.S., there was the knowledge that a person could - and often did - move west. So why expend the effort and expense of building with massive ceiling beams and tile roofs meant to last 200 or more years?

By contrast, in Europe there was no west to move to. Builders knew that solidly built structures would be used for many generations to come.

Some examples that come to mind: Once while in the French village of Ribeauville I was invited to go to the local elementary school on the day when students would be displaying projects. In approaching the building, it was clear that the school was built in the 1800s. Inside? Signs of wear for more than a century - worn floors, scarred doors and some peeling paint. But the exterior? It was virtually pristine. I'm thinking that school will remain in use for at least another century.

My longest standing international friend is a Brit named Peter Bloomfield. We met in 1979 and have visited each other often. He is an alum of Christ's Hospital School that was founded by King Edward VI in 1552 to serve poor boys. (Poor girls were first admitted in 1563.) The initial location was in central London. As enrollment grew and more buildings and land were needed, what is called the "new campus" saw construction begin in the 1890s with the official opening in 1902. Peter, a proud and involved alum, showed me the new campus a few years ago. Today it serves 820 boys and girls. I asked Peter how those 120-year-old buildings could be adequately educating today's youths. They would be deprived of modern science labs, cable hook-ups, etc.

Peter smiled. Not so, he said. In recent years, he related, those buildings had been gutted and re-configured to accommodate modern technology.

"Was any thought given to razing them and building anew?" I asked.

Peter was aghast. "Never!"