"Temporary Monstrosities"

Quonsets and Barracks

State sought to increase its instructional capacity by hiring more faculty, doubling the average size of undergraduate classes to more than 40 students, and scheduling lectures and labs in the evenings and on Saturday afternoons. Nevertheless, teaching simply demanded more space. The administration rushed to acquire a dozen surplus Quonset huts and several two-story wooden army barracks. By the winter term of 1946-1947, makeshift classrooms filled the Court of North Carolina and the area behind Patterson Hall.

Although they provided temporary relief, these buildings were notoriously drafty and considered an eyesore in the campus scenery. The Technician called them "temporary monstrosities." They were assigned to courses that did not require lab work, such as liberal arts classes in the Basic Division (now the College of Humanities and Social Sciences). Ironically, the School of Design remained in aesthetically unpleasing barracks for seven years.

The number of men assigned to each dorm room was increased from two to three, and then to four. Storage and social rooms were converted into bedrooms. Still, the college turned away qualified students for lack of residential space. Some Raleigh homes took in tenants, but demand outpaced supply. The North Carolina State College Foundation borrowed funds from Wachovia Bank for the construction of two new dormitories. To recognize the Alumni Association for its initiative, the college named both dorms for alumni.

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Credit: Special Collections Research Center, NCSU Libraries.

Temporary classrooms under construction, 1946.

 


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Credit: Technician, February 21, 1947.

Article from the Technician, the student newspaper at NC State.


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Credit: Technician, February 21, 1947.

A Technician editorial on the new campus construction.

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Credit: Special Collections Research Center, NCSU Libraries.

The Court of North Carolina, looking east.

 

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Credit: Special Collections Research Center, NCSU Libraries.

The Court of North Carolina, looking west.

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Credit: Office of Information Services, NC State.

Quonset huts used for temporary classrooms, 1948.

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Credit: Special Collections Research Center, NCSU Libraries.

Barracks for classrooms.

Behind Patterson Hall, buildings were crammed around a fountain used during the war to circulate the water that cooled the engines in the Navy Diesel building.

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Credit: Special Collections Research Center, NCSU Libraries.

The barracks in winter.

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Credit: Special Collections Research Center, NCSU Libraries.

Students in the cafeteria line in Leazar Hall.

Crowding affected every aspect of campus life. Students got used to standing in line: only one phone was available for every 200 men in the dorms, the supply store was tiny, elbowing for registration started at 5:00 a.m., and getting lunch in the single campus cafeteria in Leazar Hall could entail waiting for half an hour.


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Credit: Technician, October 11, 1946.

Student-drawn cartoon, 1946.

"There were two double-deck bunks in each [dorm] room, but only two small desks. . . . The small wardrobe did not really present a problem because none of us had much in the way of civilian clothing."

– Donald E. Moreland, Class of 1949.

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Credit: NC State College News Service.

Owen Hall (left) and Tucker Hall under construction.

When Owen and Tucker Halls were completed in mid-1948, the college was able to offer rooms to all incoming North Carolina freshmen for the first time since the war. No on-campus housing was provided for women until 1964.

 

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