At the university where I currently teach, there is a specific restroom that smells just like the women's restroom on the 5th floor of the Harold B. Lee Library. I'm not sure what it is that makes the two bathrooms smell so similar. Perhaps its the cleaning substances that the custodians use? Or perhaps the tiles and building materials from the '70s and '80s have a smell that seemingly never goes away? Whatever it is, whenever I visit this restroom I am transported back to the HBLL restroom, with its pink tiling and cloth towel dispensers. I tried to find a picture of it to post here, but wasn't successful. I did find, though, an image of another pink bathroom (this one with a red velvet couch!) that I instantly recognized as the one in the basement of the HFAC (see above). I remember trying to sleep or relax on that same couch, back in the day. When searching for images online, I also found an old blog dedicated to the bathrooms on BYU campus, which is amusing.
I feel like I got to know the restroom on the 5th floor of the HBLL quite well, since I usually studied on that floor when I was in the library. As a freshman and sophomore, the 5th floor was one of the least popular areas to study. My roommates and I enjoyed the quieter atmosphere up there. It was also a neat place to study back then, because one of the study rooms on the east side of the building had bookshelves that were filled with old books. I think those books were spirited down to Special Collections after my freshman or sophomore year, which was sad.
As the years rolled on, the 5th floor became increasingly popular as a study spot. The floor was sometimes a little noisy, and I often had to share a table with someone I didn't know. How inconvenient! Sometimes, it was difficult to find a carrel for studying, too. But I persevered and stuck with the 5th floor for the most part, especially when I was an undergrad. After all, the art history shelves are located there. It was pointless to grab several heavy textbooks for a research paper on that floor, only to lug them elsewhere.
Does anyone have a picture of the 5th floor of the library? I couldn't find one online, and I regret that I didn't take pictures when I was there as a student. For those of you who studied in the HBLL, what areas are especially memorable for you?
Posts
6 comments:
One of my roommates used to reserve study rooms in the HBLL for the middle of the day. Then she and her boyfriend would meet there to make out. I always loved that she did that, because I would never have the guts to!
I could never sleep in those bathrooms. Too many unsavory sounds...
I do love the 5th floor. And I really miss having an open library that doesn't require school ID to get in (rotten London libraries! I'm not allowed in to any of them).
m.m.: Ha! That's funny! What a romantic place to meet your boyfriend! She must have always requested a room without windows.
ixoj: It's true. The couch in the HFAC was extremely comfortable, but it was very difficult to rest there with so many awkward sounds nearby. I only tried to sleep there once or twice, I think, when it was early in the morning (and therefore didn't have a lot of traffic). But I would marvel at how many girls could seemingly sleep on that couch through all of the traffic that the bathroom sustained during the middle of the day.
my roommates and i always went to either the bottom floor or the 5th floor. but when i was alone, i ALWAYS went to the 5th floor. i felt comfortable and at home amongst all those art books. :) and yes, it was the quietest place for awhile...no one wanted to go up all those stairs! i'm such a nerd, but i seriously miss that library, the benches outside the MOA, the benches inside the HFAC - all places i loved to study.
Oh man this post brought back a lot of memories. The couches in the womens' rooms were legendary! And by that I mean that I know they existed through the tales that spread through campus. I never got to experience them...which doesn't disappoint me. Was there like an anteroom with couches and then a doorway that divided it from the actual bathroom? I just can't imagine it being comfortable (no matter the plushness of the couch) trying to take a nap next to a bathroom. I even have a hard time with the fact that water fountains are always next to bathrooms. It disgusts me! Those water pipes are just too close together for my liking!
Anyway, really I am getting very nostalgic thinking of the HBLL. I feel like I spent as much time there as I did my apartment. I think most of my time was actually spent on the 4th floor in the big computer lab. Jaime was always in there, and I basically just followed her around everywhere.
But when I would study on my own, I'd always get in one of those 5th floor individual desks (I hated when I would have to sit with other people at a table) on the North side with windows. The biggest memory I have of the 5th floor, though, is studying there on a warm, sunny day and looking outside right around lunch time when all the classes were getting out at the same time...and then having an anxiety attack seeing so many people all together outside. It was like watching a bunch of swarming ants. But then I remembered I was safe in my haven 3 floors above them all with my individual desk! :)
WOW - this picture brought back so many memories. In truth, I don't remember one specific place I always studied, but I remember many times trying to catch a nap on whatever sofa I could find.
Post a Comment