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<blockquote data-quote="Old South Stands" data-source="post: 261826" data-attributes="member: 1036"><p>I was there in the late '80s / early '90s and also hung out at campus some throughout the '70s (attending games, football camp, or just hanging out with my dad who was doing experiments at the wind tunnel or doing research in the library). With the exception of SAC and some of the West Campus housing, the campus hadn't changed much from my dad's time there around 1960. I can't believe the amount of trees on campus now, and off campus as well (around North Avenue station). When I was at Tech, there were hardly any trees. But there was a ton more open space, as well as places to park. I remember when Rose Bowl Field was one long, gigantic, unobstructed field stretching from Ferst Drive all the way to 10th Street. You could have easily taken off and landed there in an ultralight aircraft.</p><p></p><p>The areas surrounding campus back then looked like a lunarscape. Lots of abandoned buildings and empty lots no one wanted to develop. After about five o'clock, Downtown pretty much shut down and became a ghost town. It was very dangerous, too, as you regularly heard gunshots at night coming from the Techwood projects and didn't always feel entirely safe, even on campus. Two people I roomed with were beaten up pretty badly by gangs of thugs outside the Home Park neighborhood off campus, and I had a friend in class whose brother was murdered nearby in a random (gang initiation?) shooting. Aggressive panhandlers were everywhere, and you had to run the gauntlet of them along North Avenue between campus and the Marta station. </p><p></p><p>Back in those days, there was a lottery system for housing. Freshmen were guaranteed a room, but after your freshman year, you had to enter a lottery for on-campus housing, and there wasn't enough for everyone. Such was the situation that Tech acquired one of the Techwood projects buildings on the corner of North Avenue and Techwood Drive for additional housing space, and it still wasn't enough to fill the need. It was called McDaniel Dorm, but most people on campus knew it simply as Techwood Dorm. It no longer exists; the twin dormitory towers that house GaState students was built atop that land. Even though Techwood Dorm was right off campus, it could still be dangerous there. A hallmate of mine witnessed a shooting across the street, and one afternoon a car smashed through the parking lot fence and on top of a student's jeep trying to elude cops during a high-speed chase. Both occupants got away on foot.</p><p></p><p>Sports success made it an otherwise fun time to be at Tech in those days, with Tech football and basketball doing well, not to mention the Atlanta Braves. But other than that, my time at Tech wasn't particularly enjoyable, given the rigors of academic life combined with the stresses of living downtown without a vehicle. It completely cured me of ever wanting to live in a big city again. There was also a big recession, with some of the brightest guys I ever knew getting 75, 80, even 100 flush letters from various companies before getting hired. The overall experience nearly quenched all the love for Tech I'd built up over my grade school and high school years... Still glad I was able to get in and get out with a diploma.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Old South Stands, post: 261826, member: 1036"] I was there in the late '80s / early '90s and also hung out at campus some throughout the '70s (attending games, football camp, or just hanging out with my dad who was doing experiments at the wind tunnel or doing research in the library). With the exception of SAC and some of the West Campus housing, the campus hadn't changed much from my dad's time there around 1960. I can't believe the amount of trees on campus now, and off campus as well (around North Avenue station). When I was at Tech, there were hardly any trees. But there was a ton more open space, as well as places to park. I remember when Rose Bowl Field was one long, gigantic, unobstructed field stretching from Ferst Drive all the way to 10th Street. You could have easily taken off and landed there in an ultralight aircraft. The areas surrounding campus back then looked like a lunarscape. Lots of abandoned buildings and empty lots no one wanted to develop. After about five o'clock, Downtown pretty much shut down and became a ghost town. It was very dangerous, too, as you regularly heard gunshots at night coming from the Techwood projects and didn't always feel entirely safe, even on campus. Two people I roomed with were beaten up pretty badly by gangs of thugs outside the Home Park neighborhood off campus, and I had a friend in class whose brother was murdered nearby in a random (gang initiation?) shooting. Aggressive panhandlers were everywhere, and you had to run the gauntlet of them along North Avenue between campus and the Marta station. Back in those days, there was a lottery system for housing. Freshmen were guaranteed a room, but after your freshman year, you had to enter a lottery for on-campus housing, and there wasn't enough for everyone. Such was the situation that Tech acquired one of the Techwood projects buildings on the corner of North Avenue and Techwood Drive for additional housing space, and it still wasn't enough to fill the need. It was called McDaniel Dorm, but most people on campus knew it simply as Techwood Dorm. It no longer exists; the twin dormitory towers that house GaState students was built atop that land. Even though Techwood Dorm was right off campus, it could still be dangerous there. A hallmate of mine witnessed a shooting across the street, and one afternoon a car smashed through the parking lot fence and on top of a student's jeep trying to elude cops during a high-speed chase. Both occupants got away on foot. Sports success made it an otherwise fun time to be at Tech in those days, with Tech football and basketball doing well, not to mention the Atlanta Braves. But other than that, my time at Tech wasn't particularly enjoyable, given the rigors of academic life combined with the stresses of living downtown without a vehicle. It completely cured me of ever wanting to live in a big city again. There was also a big recession, with some of the brightest guys I ever knew getting 75, 80, even 100 flush letters from various companies before getting hired. The overall experience nearly quenched all the love for Tech I'd built up over my grade school and high school years... Still glad I was able to get in and get out with a diploma. [/QUOTE]
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