Here’s an interactive look at historical images of Bates places paired with images taken more recently.
The more things change, the more…. Well, you can finish that thought!
This edition of Then and Now was prepared as part of last week’s virtual Reunion programming. Use your mouse to grab the slider (or swipe your finger if on a phone or tablet) to reveal more or less of each image.
Garcelon Field
The 1899 image, taken when Garcelon was being cleared, shows Hedge Hall (left) and and Hathorn Hall (center). They’re joined by Pettengill Hall in the contemporary image.
Rand Hall
Built in 1905 as a women’s residence hall, Rand Hall also contained the Fiske dining room, which served all the women on campus during the era of separate men’s and women’s dining.
Chase Hall
About the only changes in these views of Chase Hall are the disappearance of trolley tracks and the paving of Campus Avenue.
Lake Andrews and Page Hall
Lake Andrews got its name in the early 1900s when Delbert Andrews, Class of 1910, helped students create a skating rink by damming a swampy area behind Hathorn Hall and Parker Hall.
In 1958, as Bates embarked on a building program, including building Page Hall (once an all-women’s dorm nicknamed “Smurd”), seen in the 1960 photo, the college enlarged what Andrews had begun by excavating a true retention pond to handle stormwater runoff. As with elsewhere around Lake Andrews today, extensive vegetation helps filter runoff.
Figure Eight
Campus Avenue once had trolley tracks. This section was part of the Figure Eight, named for the shape of its route around Lewiston and Auburn. The President’s House is in the background, then and now.
Maintenance Center
Built on Andrews Road in 1909 and expanded in 1962, the Maintenance Center and its imposing smokestack was demolished to make way for Pettengill Hall, which opened in 1999.
Schaeffer Theatre
Opened in 1960 as the Little Theatre, the Bates theater was renamed in 1973 to mark the retirement of Lavinia Schaeffer, director of theater from 1938 to 1968.
Garcelon grandstand
In a sweeping renovation, Bates upgraded the Garcelon Field grandstand and installed lights and a FieldTurf surface in 2010. In November 2019, the field hosted its first-ever night football game.
Elms
The path next to Gray Athletic Building and Alumni Gym once was lined with elms. Their ranks were ravaged by Dutch Elm disease, which swept through New England in the 1950s to 1970s.
Muskie Archives
This former gymnasium and locker space for women was turned into the Muskie Archives and Special Collections Library in 1985, including the addition of an outdoor, walled garden.
Lake Andrews shoreline
The shoreline of Lake Andrews features more vegetation than ever before, part of efforts to support the pond’s health, even if it does obscure a view of Adams Hall.
Rand Field
Bates built a new residence hall, 280 College, on the former Rand Field in 2007.
Dana Chemistry Hall
Opened in 1965, Dana Chemistry is now undergoing a gut renovation to focus more on general science teaching, with a goal of more effectively welcoming new students to STEM fields.
Chemistry will move to the new Bonney Science Center on Campus Avenue, a campus hub for faculty and programs in biology, chemistry, and neuroscience with overlapping research interests and technical needs.
Pettigrew Hall
Pettigrew Hall, originally called the “Fine Arts Building,” opened in 1953.
Schaeffer Theatre
Originally named “Little Theatre” to continue the name of its predecessor in Hathorn Hall, the theater was named in honor of Professor of Speech and Theater Lavinia Schaeffer at her retirement in 1973. Schaeffer had directed dramatics at Bates from 1938 to 1968.
Garcelon Field
These two images of Garcelon Field, one pre-World War II and one from October 2017, were both taken from the top floor of Roger Williams Hall.
Both show the football team practicing. In the older photo, the team uses a practice field to avoid tearing up game-field sod. Today, since the addition of FieldTurf during 2010 renovations, the Bates varsity teams that use the field (football and lacrosse) play and practice on their game field.
Alumni Walk
In one fell swoop between mid-2006 and early 2008, Bates created Alumni Walk along with a new dining Commons and a residence hall at 280 College Street.
Alumni Walk passes in front of Lane Hall and behind Parker, Hathorn, Dana, and Hedge halls. Besides replacing the former campus road and parking area once there, it brings architectural coherence to a maturing area of campus.
Hedge and Roger Williams
In 2010, former residence halls Roger Williams (1895) and Hedge (1890) were revamped and returned to their original use as academic buildings.
Hedge was a chemistry building until 1965, when it became a residence and turned its science role over to Dana Chemistry Hall. The “Bill” was originally a divinity school before it became a raucous residence.
