IIT in the 70's

Just recently IIT posted a link on its Facebook page to a YouTube video of a film from around 1972 showing off the IIT campus. I always like seeing how things have changed since "the old days." But what surprised me more than anything else was how things haven't changed.

That's not to say we are behind on the times on anything. Things haven't changed because even in the 70's we were committed to staying on top of technological developments. Things haven't changed because we haven't really had to. What motivated us then still motivates us now, and the reason we were a great college then is the reason we are one of the best colleges today.
The buildings are the same ones that you see today minus a few exceptions. And they look just as modern today as they did back then. And even in the 70's the buildings had some history to them. The professors have just as much dedication to staying on the forefront of scientific developments as they do now. Heck, the tables and chairs in the library are the same! The biggest difference between now and then is the amount of facial hair all the men are sporting in the 70's. Though, being a college student you can still see plenty of that today, just with some more hipster-y flair.

If you can deal with some mildly irritating synthesizer music, please check out the video!

If you make it to 9:00, you will hear some chiming in the background. That's not some strange musical decision made by the soundtrack composer. Did you know IIT used to have a carillon? True story! It used to chime three times a day, and ran off of an electric system that used magnetic tape to play the chimes. It last played not long after this film was made, after some grumps in Wishnick Hall decided it was too annoying. But it is still here! The machinery being so old, it is probably long past repair (within a respectable budget, that is), but in the basement where I work, there is a glass-walled room that houses the chimes and the old equipment that would play them every day. It's quite a sight, and if you ask the Admissions Office nicely enough, maybe they'll show it to you. Here's a glimpse from photos I found here:

I work right next to this thing every day, and it wasn't until years later that I actually noticed what was in the glass room and someone told me what it was. It's amazing how something so big and unusual can go unnoticed. If you live in a big city long enough you stop looking up at all the tall buildings. I think if we all try to act like a tourist more often we wouldn't miss out on some of the cooler things in life. Maybe there are some other interesting remnants from the old days at IIT. It's up to us to check them out!