Building a Campus: New Digital Collection

Marquette College and Holy Name Church
(10th & State Streets), circa 1900

December 2010--Raynor Memorial Libraries announces the launch of a new digital collection, Building a Campus, drawing upon photographs, drawings, clippings, and programs held in the University Archives. The collection currently includes more than 600 items, circa 1900 to the present, documenting the life of 14 buildings that have played a role in the history of the campus.

The buildings documented include the original Marquette College building, Gesu Church, Brooks Memorial Union, McCormick Hall, and St. Joan of Arc Chapel.

Reconstruction of the
St. Joan of Arc Chapel, May 1966

Building a Campus was created with both casual and serious researchers in mind and was designed to fit the needs of both, providing information about the history of the building itself, as well as information about the image scanned. The collection provides a visual history of each building through the inclusion of photographs, while digitized printed materials, such as dedication programs, pamphlets, articles, and newspaper clippings, provide more in-depth historical information about the structure.

University Sports Mural in the
Brooks Memorial Union, 1953-54

Many buildings play a part in the history of an institution more than 125 years in the making. The 14 buildings included in the collection at this time represent only a small number of those utilized over the years. Focus groups conducted on campus in late 2008 informed decision-making about which to include first; buildings prioritized for inclusion often had historical importance, bore significance for large numbers of students (now alumni), or were deemed representative of the Marquette brand. Documentation for more campus buildings will be added over time.

Building a Campus joins the growing digital archive of university history produced by the Libraries' Department of Special Collections & University Archives. Other collections now online include The Hilltop Yearbooks, The Hall of Fame Collection, Ralph Metcalfe: The Olympic Years, Service at Marquette, The University Histories, and Women in Blue & Gold. Browse all collections here.

Read more about the new collection.

Connect to Building a Campus.

Questions about this collection may be directed to: Michelle Sweetser, Archivist, Special Collections and University Archives, (414) 288-5905.