Currier Hall, Iowa City, Iowa

So what does this image of a dorm in Iowa City have to do with Uptown Chicago? Absolutely nothing, other than I bought it at an antique store in Edgewater. It's a 1910s image of the dorm that I lived in during my early years of undergrad at the University of Iowa. It was the first "historic" building I lived in, and does contribute, in some small part, to my interest in historic architecture.

There were newer, more modern facilities at the University of Iowa, but this turn-of-the-(twentieth)-century building appealed to me with its traditional architecture and history. That, and the fact that it was a co-ed dorm. (This was the late eighties, and it was still slightly risque.) The arrow points to my window on the top floor, obscured somewhat by the trees. My friends and I would climb out through the window and sit on the roof, drinking beer and smoking, well, let's just say smoking. It was college, after all, a time of exploration and self-discovery.

Currier is supposedly haunted by a few ghosts; a triple suicide occurred there when three women unfortunately fell in love with the same man, and couldn't think of a better way to resolve it. Sadly, I never did see the ghosts, although one of my roommates claimed to have seen one on her way to the showers one night.

(So there. I had to justify the purchase of this postcard in some way. Thank you for indulging me. Now, back to the history of Uptown.)