Onyx Anneau Fall 2021

THE CAMPUS SPEAKS Swope Art Museum exhibit showcases historical elements of Saint Mary-of-the-Woods It’s like stepping back in time. Just thinking about what these objects have been through is enough to raise goosebumps. Some of them have been through two pandemics. Two world wars. The list is vast. As Dottie L. King, Ph.D., president, put it — the campus sends echoes. “You can only imagine how amazing it is to walk through these buildings and really feel some of those echoes of what came before,” King said during the opening of a Saint Mary-of-the-Woods (SMW) Historic District exhibit at the Swope Art Museum in August. “I really believe the echoes keep us moving forward.” And, these echoes reverberate throughout campus. It is in The Avenue sign that welcomed generations of students as they entered the gates of their home away from home. You can see it in the pillar of the Le Fer Lake Bridge, built in 1922, where countless students posed for photos. Mostly noticeably, you really sense the significance of these echoes as you peruse reproductions of architectural drawings by the Bohlen and Sons Architects of Indianapolis. The buildings are ones you know and love including the Conservatory, Guerin Hall, Le Fer Hall and the Church of Immaculate Conception, built between 1884 and 1969. The SMW Historic District, launched in 2017 as the campus was named to the National Register of Historic Places, holds the largest collection of cohesive Bohlen buildings throughout the nation. The Bohlen influence is extensive and includes the original barn and stables, contributing to the equine presence on campus. They also designed many buildings in the downtown Indianapolis area, along with the French Lick Springs Hotel in southern Indiana. “Buildings do have a story to tell — there’s no doubt about that — but that story always leads us to people who made that vision a reality,” Paula Damiano, SP, ’72 , shared during the exhibit opening. The exhibit features blueprints, photo albums and items from the archives along with larger items such as pieces of marble, stained glass windows, historic light fixtures and pieces of buildings and bridges. These items were, in some cases quite literately, dragged from basements and snagged from attics to share. By Marissa Schmitter, Content Marketing Specialist

A chandelier that adorned Le Fer Hall is now on display at the Swope.

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