the teacher’s lounge was a wall. Mr. Bicha-Dale’s room was split into two locker rooms attached to the bathrooms. It’s hard to imagine that where today we dance, ULS alumni played basketball, volleyball, and participated in gym class. There was no Brumder Gym, no Fine Arts building, no Middle School, no Lower School, and no Commons–the Green Room was it! The place to be.
Let’s jump forward to the year 1966. The wonderful gymnasium that we had in 1964 is now moved to the State-of -the-art Brumder. But what happened to the Green Room? Well, it was transformed into one of those places where awkward teens learn to express themselves–a lunch room and occasionally a theatre. What we know is that the middle school children would walk across the frozen grounds of Hawk Hill and place their jackets and winter clothes on the stage so they could enjoy the home-cooked meals that were prepared in what is now the
Students perform a concert in the gym/theater.
Upper School teacher’s lounge. The windows that stand there now were once receptacles for trays to be sent back to the kitchen. The student government room was a walk-in freezer, which explains why the room is always one hundred degrees. The lofted part of the Green Room was not a stage, but rather a storage space. There was a pull-down stepladder that allowed people to put things out of the way.
A student creates a film in the library, 1967.
Now let’s move forward to 1995. The Fine Arts building was constructed and the stage erected, aiding the future of the theatre department. The lunch room was moved to the upstairs of the Brumder. The Green Room required a long span of time before it was clear what its most effective use would be. So, there was a long gap before the Green Room made its amazing comeback. Now jump forward to the year 2010. A crew of student helped to remove the books, remove the shelves, give a good dusting job, and put couches in. From this point, the Green Room became the wonderful gathering space we know today.
this point, the Green Room became the wonderful gathering space we know today.
Looking forward, it is difficult to tell what the future holds for the historic Green Room. Given its vast history and versatility, it could be morphed into almost anything. By 2150, our own Green Room could be transformed into a Star Trek-esque “transporter.” Beam me up.
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