With a new year we tend to look ahead, make promises and plans, and maybe wax a bit

Bridge across Westhampton Lake. (http://centuries.richmond.edu/items/show/291.)

nostalgic.. Along those lines, we’ve been taking a look back at what was happening at the University of Richmond 100 years ago in 1915. The campus was still pretty new, but according to the minutes of the Committee on New Buildings [Galvin Rare Book Room LD4711.R392 B], there were already problems.

It seems that the heating in the men’s dormitories was “defective” and architects Cram and Ferguson were being contacted. The company in charge of the heating system determined that it could not be remedied at present and the committee agreed to withhold payment. Heating and cooling issues on campus are nothing new!

Also, less than perfect was the main sewer line. Dr. Boatwright reported that the re-laying of the line was in progress.

A deal was struck with the Virginia Railway and Power Company (an early iteration of Dominion Power) to provide a minimum of 50 thousand watts for the first year and 100 thousand watts a year for the following four years. They were simpler times.

Also, the old mill road near the head of the lake had a bridge that spanned the water. (This is where the Commons now stands.) It was in need of repair. The committee could not decide whether to authorize the repairs or have “the road marked Dangerous or Closed.”

Other issues involved roads, buses/streetcars, and housing for professors.  Not too radically different from today’s worries except for the price tag.