SHARE YOUR MEMORIES OF AYRES HALL!
Do you remember your college days when you climbed the monumental “Hill” to get to a class in Ayres Hall? Once you made it to the top and paused for a deep breath, you could look out over all of campus. At that moment, everything in the world seemed possible.
Ayres Hall has become a campus icon, a building that holds lots of memories for all UT students and alumni.
As we anticipate the re-opening of Ayres Hall, we invite you to reminisce with us. Please share your memories below and read the comments of your classmates, friends and teachers.
Before I graduated from UT, I walked around campus and the city and took pictures of our landmarks in Knoxville. I have six frames pictures sitting on my coffee table today. I have the humanities amphitheater, the Sunsphere, Neyland (of course), and a few of Massey and the World’s Fair fountain. But my favorite picture is the one I have of Ayer’s Hall. Ayer’s IS the hill. You couldn’t attend UT without loving that building.
My first quarter in the summer of 1963 I slipped up and and allowed myself back to back classes second floor Ayers, third floor Glocker, third floor Ayers.
We had classes on Saturday November 23, 1963. English class was canceled after the instructor read us a poem and told us to ponder it over the weekend. Classes were not held the next Monday.
I rember arriving in the Ayres Hall basement shortly before 7 a.m. and being the DJ for WVOL, the ‘one watt hot spot,’ that was broadcast into the dorms. What a way to get over ‘mike fright!’ The records were only what was provided free to the station so one had to carefully select what one played. Evidently no one complained and we continued on for another quarter. The quarters were close but, what the heck, it felt great to be in such an impressive building. This was my freshman year (57-58) and not what your typical engineering student would do. Later the Mathematics Department had those upper class math courses – Differential Equations, Complex (real and Imaginary) Numbers, and Integral Calculus. Fortunately there wasn’t too much homework then.
I remember my first class in Ayres Hall was an 8 o’clock Math class, Cal II. It’s almost like an early morning workout. I parked at stadium garage, which is at the lowest point of the Hill, right beside the river. The first time I walked in there, I was amazed by the building structure and suddenly understood why Ayres is used to present UTK. It did take some time for me to find my class. But as I sat in the classroom, I can actually calm down and be excited for the class.
I remember Ayres Hall as being one of UT’s most pristine vantage points. The walk to Ayres was always filled with panting while climbing steps and winding around walkways. College Algebra seemed to last forever. When it was over I hurried back down the Hill towards the UC to try to get breakfast! I wonder if the same woman who made those great omelets works there?