The Frankenstein Switch of CU’s Old Main

Anonymous — Fri, 05 Nov 2021 06:00:00 +0000

The Frankenstein Switch of CU’s Old Main Anonymous (not verified) Fri, 11/05/2021 - 00:00

Christie Sounart

From 1924 to 1925, Old Main underwent renovations to redesign its theater, add a laboratory and generally improve the building, originally built in 1876.

“Those were the days when Old Main was the University,” declared the Colorado Alumnus in November 1924. “Its windows rattled, its walls rocked during storms and its floors and stairs creaked with the weight of a hundred students, the entire University population. And it still stands, but it will rock and creak no more.”

Electric ceiling lighting replaced kerosene lamps, candles and gas mantles. This particular electrical switch is believed to be one of the switches that sourced the building’s power.

Similar in appearance to the one used in the 1931 Frankenstein film, the heavy switch contains a slate baseplate and a tiny triangular logo from electric manufacturing company, Trumbull-Vanderpoel, based in Bantam, Connecticut.

Fred Luiszer (Geol’87; PhD’97) donated the switch to the CU Heritage Center in 2018. He acquired it as a student in the late 1960s when minor upgrades were made to Old Main. Read more about this Heritage Center artifact.

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Photo by Mona Lambrecht, CU Heritage Center

An artifact of CU’s Heritage Center is believed to be one of the switches that sourced power for Old Main.

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Then — 1946

Anonymous — Fri, 17 May 2019 07:00:00 +0000

Then — 1946 Anonymous (not verified) Fri, 05/17/2019 - 01:00

The Japanese American Citizens League honored Colorado Governor Ralph Carr (A&S1910 Law1912) with this watch for his stand against the internment of Japanese-Americans in domestic prison camps following the 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor. Carr, who was governor from 1939 to 1943, was among the only U.S. politicians to oppose the camps publicly. The watch, held in CU’s Heritage Center, is inscribed “In grateful appreciation for your Courageous Stand for Democratic and American Principles.”

Photo by Casey A. Cass

The Japanese American Citizens League honored Colorado Governor Ralph Carr with a gold watch for his stand against the internment of Japanese-Americans in domestic prison camps following the 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor. It now lives in CU's Heritage Center.

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The Frankenstein Switch of CU’s Old Main

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