The History of the University of Baltimore

There are multiple ways to learn more about the history of the UB. The UB photographs and Yearbook collections are the best way to start. The University of Baltimore Photographs Collection includes images from the University Archives that depict the past athletics programs, the campus, significant events, and student life. The photographs are drawn from archival collections that were generated by a diverse set of units in the University and span over the period from 1925 to the present.

Below, there are some pictures from this collection:

Former Odorite Building 1994

The former Odorite building at the southeast corner of Maryland Ave. and Mount Royal Ave. 

(The current location of the University of Baltimore Student Center)

 University of Baltimore Campus 1990

Aerial view looking west featuring the Academic Center, Charles Hall, Charles Hall Annex, the Lyric Theatre, The Law Center, Penn Station, and the Jones Falls Expressway

Edgar Allen Poe Statue Installation in Gordon Plaza 1993

Edgar Allen Poe statue being lowered onto a plinth in Gordon Plaza 

Edgar Allen Poe Statue 1984

 Cover image from the spring 1984 edition of the Newsmagazine

Also, the University of Baltimore Yearbook Collection contains issues of the UB student yearbook from 1928 to 1975.

The University of Baltimore was founded in 1925 to provide an opportunity for working adults to receive degrees in law and business, graduating its first class in 1928. This graduating class began the tradition of publishing an annual yearbook, known as The Reporter. 

If you want to know more about UB Archives you can browse the complete database here.

Archives Are for Everyone

When some people think of archives, they imagine documents and artifacts that are rarefied, specialized, and only available through tightly monitored access. While preservation does require that archives are arranged systematically and treated with care, archival materials are not meant to be vaunted and intangible.  They are historical primary sources, but communities and individuals make up history, and as such, are deeply connected to what they choose to document and keep. Archives are for everyone.

Langsdale Special Collections’ own Angela Rodgers-Koukoui--with assistance from Smithsonian Audiovisual Archivist and Baltimorean Megan McShea--is sharing the secrets of archival preservation in Special Collections' Community Archives workshop (#bemorearchives) that will take place for 3 Saturdays in October, part of Baltimore’s #FreeFall program. We had some questions for Angela and Megan about what people can expect, and what the workshop is all about.

The Other Side of Summer

Dance Troupe, 1972. Robert Breck Chapman Collection. Via flickr

When I decided last week to do a seasonal library display of items in Special Collections with a theme of “summertime leisure”, I couldn’t imagine a fluffier, less serious topic. I thought that-- aside from having multiple boxes across collections retrieved from storage-- the whole thing would be a breeze; just rainbows and kittens and glitter and sunshine all the way. Of course, mostly, it is:  selecting photographs taken by Robert Breck Chapman, former photographer for City Hall, is always an opportunity to gaze at beautifully composed images capturing city life during the 1970s. Also, poring through scenes from the Post Card Project-- featuring kitschy vintage paper and ephemera-- is pretty fun.