Names Above the Laylight

Dan Craig '03 — Wednesday, March 12, 2014

Of the many nooks and crannies of the house, the crawl space above the laylight over the central stairs was one of the most spectacular. Accessible by a small panel in the 4th floor hall closet, brothers from the 1920s to present, and even a few sweethearts, have ventured into the space and carved their names on the plaster wall.

The addition of the 5th floor posed a design question: build over the skylight in order to gain more space like Skullhouse did, or extend the stairs and and skylight to the new floor? Ultimately we concluded the natural light and the communication between the floors was worth the space. The laylight has been removed for safekeeping while the 5th floor is constructed and the main stair extended. When the 5th floor is in place, the original laylight will reside above it.

Unfortunately the plaster walls of carved names could not be salvaged. But before they were removed, we captured high-resolution photos to preserve the marks left behind by brothers past.

Full Size Image - 25 MB