Exhibit highlights history of Houston Hall

A swimming pool in Houston Hall? A bowling alley? Viewers of the newly opened exhibit entitled, "Houston Hall: See The History," had a chance to uncover these and other little-known facts Saturday afternoon in the exhibit co-sponsored by the SPEC Art Gallery and Perelman Quad and held in Logan Hall. Consisting of photographs, slides and video footage of past events held in the nation's oldest student union, the exhibit --whose opening was part of this weekend's "No Place Like Penn" festivities -- will run for another two weeks. "Most students don't know the history of Houston Hall," said College senior Eugene Chung, co-director of the Art Gallery. "Hopefully, students will stop by between classes and learn about it." Lured by the promise of free food, the approximately 50 exhibit attendees seemed amazed at the building's history. The history of the building is an interesting one: It opened for business in 1896, making it the nation's first student union. Besides the swimming pool and bowling alley, it initially included a gymnasium and a small theater. Over the years, Houston Hall has housed many student groups and boasted retail such as a barbershop, a CD store and fast-food options like Burger King and Subway. "My mom was a member of the class of '58," said visitor Ruth First. "Looking at the old photos gives me a chance to relive the best four years of her life, and take the same paths where she walked. The contrast of the old and new also provided a chance to remember old favorites. "I remember when the bell was in the middle -- it was the place where everybody found each other," University President and 1966 graduate Judith Rodin said while exploring the exhibit. "The saying was, 'Meet you at the bell.'" College senior Michael Bassik, chairman of the Undergraduate Assembly, remembered the way Houston Hall looked when he was a freshman. "I'm glad to see that the video arcade has remained an integral part of Houston Hall," he said. The newly renovated building offers the opportunity for new favorites to emerge. "The Bodek Lounge was beautiful when we hosted the prime minister of Singapore for lunch [last week]," Rodin said. "It felt so good to be in there and be able to see the action of the campus in the background. "But my favorite room now is the room upstairs that I endowed in my father's name," Rodin added, referring to the third floor's Morris Seitz Memorial Room, one of the building's many small conference rooms. The material for the exhibit was gathered from both the University archives and Houston Hall, where some of the pictures had already been on display. Following the exhibit, all of the material will be mounted in the student union. "We started planning the event over the summer, and we only had the first week of class to put the show up," said College senior Elzio Ciuffardi, co-director of the Art Gallery. "We hope to have some events to draw different groups to the show."