Even after 60 years, the University of Idaho campus still manages to amaze and interest UI alumni and longtime former faculty member David Reese.
Reese led the UI campus historical walking tour last Thursday. The tour, which lasted about two hours and spanned most of the campus, included about 12 to 14 retirees who participated in the tour.
Joleen Evans | Argonaut
“Campus Greens” and the Admin building on a sunny Sunday afternoon.
Reese was a student at the UI from 1957 to 1962 and worked as the UI Director of Facilities between 1979 and 1986. In 1987, Reese began teaching in the Department of Art and Architecture and was a teacher until 2008. Since then, Reese has come back to the university and taught four times between 2008 and 2014.
Because of Reese’s extensive knowledge of UI and its campus as a whole, he has given many tours on campus for several years now. Reese said his more recent tours have focused on what he describes as “the collegiate gothic core” of UI’s campus. Reese said he believes because of the features of the UI history, the core of campus could be considered as a historic district.
“There was no exceptional purpose other than giving long time UI employees a more critical view of their campus and to share an insider’s view of the historic campus,” Reese said.
Reese listed the grass area in front of the Administration Building and the building itself as two of the main highlights of the tour. He also noted the tour heavily touches on the Idaho Commons and its prominent position on campus.
“That is no surprise as the green and the admin building are the memory treasure of most students, faculty and staff,” Reese said. “However, I speak with feeling about the Commons and its position in the center of the campus.”
Reese said that he doesn’t have a particular favorite building or place on campus but a few places are especially appealing to him.
“If pressed the campus green is my special treasure,” Reese said. “It is the glue that holds the historic core together. J.C. Olmsted walked on that green in its infancy and in an 11-acre way it reminds one of Central Park. There are some special parks in Idaho, but there is no finer urban green anywhere in the state.”
Elizabeth Marshall can be reached at [email protected].