Most Beautiful Campus in the Big Ten
So yesterday, I took myself and my camera up to Lansing to go to the Potter Park Zoo. The Zoo was a bit on the small side but pretty nice nonetheless. My travels then took me up Pennsylvania Avenue and over on Michigan Avenue to the Capitol Building. I love the looks of our Capitol Building...shame the dome isn't copper coated or something.
Then I decided to wander over to Michigan State's campus. I will admit that the last time I was there was to see an EMU game, so it was only to the stadium. Anyways, I decided that I was going to take pictures and the only thing I could see of worth was the Beaumont Tower. I will admit, I had no clue where I was going and could have planned better but too many of the classroom buildings looked like they were built post WWII and didn't really have any classic look to them. So the Beaumont Tower went on my blog.
So anyways, I've often heard that Michigan State has a beautiful campus and I guess with the Red Cedar flowing through it is pretty nice. But who do you guys think has the most beautiful? And was I not looking hard enough?
Impossible to separate some schools from what lies around them. UM is great because it's so integrated into a beautiful town. MSU, from what I remember, seemed quite finite--and apart--by comparison. Lotta buildings a little like East Quad. Wisconsin might have a claim being on a lake and having a really pleasant state capital close at hand. Been in and around Northwestern, by the same token, and was more aware I was in Chi than thinking about the school. Like Columbia or NYU.
I did some grad work at MSU for a short stint and got to know the campus pretty well. It is pretty nice is the fall, like a few have said, and has more of a typical "college" feel, by which I mean it's all in one finite square. It has some great looking areas (by Beaumont tower, along E and W Circle), but it just lacks the history and architecture of places like U of M, Northwestern and even Wisconsin. I think downtown Ann Arbor really adds a lot to UM campus and like some of the West coast recruits said, it's not at all what they expected.
I give any campus I visit the aluminum rail/door test: the more aluminum railing and doors a campus has, the more its aesthetic appeal drops. I have applied this test to the following Big
Ten schools I have seen: Michigan, Indiana, Purdue, Illinois, Penn State, Wisconsin, Ohio State,and Northwestern. I have not seen Iowa or MSU.
1. PSU- looked like a test center for aluminum railings and doors.The glare is blinding.
2. Purdue- battle between aluminum and concrete. Concrete won out. It's an unreal place.
3. Illinois- I could not believe the size of their campus walks. Utilitarian buildings of massive proportions with bizzare architecture abound, all surrounded by corn. Underground library cut down on aluminum use.
4. Ohio State- People actually live in their stadium. The river is filthy and separates the stadium from the ag school. Bars everywhere. Above average aluminum and many thirsty and hostile students. Buildings tend to be grubby. I was too nervous to carry out a proper assessment.
5.Northwestern- On the Lake. Intereasting architecre made up for more aluminum than I had anticipated. They could be ranked higher (lower) but for that.
5. Wisconsin- Large buildings with average aluminum ranking. Lake is big deal there as well.
6.Indiana- Interesting buildings with pleasant greenery and less than average aluminum. This score was aided by massive student union with wrought iron all over the place.
7. Michigan- The gothic style dramatically reduces UM aluminum usage. The campus is the best i have seen. Markley does have an excess of aluminum glare, but other than that, I found the campus to be a very enjoyable one. Central Campusdoes use more aluminum than i would recommned, but Central Campus more than off sets that archtiectural gaff. Overall, the Michigan campus is the most attractive campus when applying the aluminum factor. I would say UM achieved their top standing because they built fewer buildings during the fifties when aluminum railings and doors were all the rage. Remember the UGLI?
4. Ohio State- People actually live in their stadium. The river is filthy and separates the stadium from the ag school. Bars everywhere. Above average aluminum and many thirsty and hostile students. Buildings tend to be grubby. I was too nervous to carry out a proper assessment.
Where did you hear that? That is news to me. There are the towers that kind of overlook the stadium (particularly Morril tower), but that's it I think...
On my recent walks along its banks, I've seen water snakes. I didn't see any snakes when I was a kid AFAIK. There were crayfish and *some* kinds of fish in the 1990s, but not as many as there should have been on paper. I don't know how fish populations are doing these days but I also saw a great blue heron recently, and those guys are all about eating small river fish.
Yea, no one lives in the stadium. Morrill and Lincoln aare the two towers behind the southwest corner of the 'Shoe. I lived in Lincoln last year and it's really nice for going to games and the RPAC, but is a bitch to get off campus to parties or High Street.
Not sure why my comment was deemed "flamebait", but whatevs.
Yeah the towers are so far from anything interesting (other than the RPAC), but a view into the stadium would be pretty awesome (regardless of the fact I am in no way an OSU fan).
In commenting on Michigan, I erred in discussing the North Campus. I inadvertantly typed in "Central Campus" instead of "North Campus." The North Campus does have more aluminum than Central Campus and thus disappoints but does not drop Michgian out of the top spot.
In an unrelated note, Miami of Ohio may not lead in aluminum, but they do have a serious aesthetic flaw: the architecture is all the same. It is painfully boring and actually somewhat confusing in that all the building look the same, with their red brick colonial tedium.
Is tripping!!!!!!!!!
Of the ones I have seen (i am trying to make it to iu and nw this yr)
1. Umich (I am a homer)
2. minny (love the twin cities)
3.wisco (didn't explore it as much as i should have)
4. psu (their gameday expirence is the most overated thing ever, it is like a shitty nfl game)
5. msu
6. Iowa (inc. didn't see enough to judge)
fwiw ... I think everyone is blown away by miami (ohio) ... not big 10, but it was the best i have seen ... plus the girls are the hottest in the midwest
MSU is one giant compound. To the south of this compound, the university buildings give way to university farm lands. If you're interested in a bite to eat or a cold beer, you will need to exit the compound in a northerly direction, crossing the four-lane thoroughfare that is Grand River Avenue. On the north side of Grand River Ave is the East Lansing strip - like Vegas but without gambling or large buildings. North of the East Lansing strip is off-campus housing. That's where they burn couches to celebrate.
1. Indiana
2. Michigan
3. Wisconsin
4. NW basically tied w/ Wisco.
5 MSU - meh
6. Minn
7. OSU - high rise dorms, UGLY town.
8. Purdue - possibly ugliest campus I've ever seen anywhere. Purdue homers still proud of it. Good for them they can keep it.
Have not seen, Illinois, PSU, Iowa or Neb.
I actually love all the big ten campuses I've been to (haven't been to OSU's). But I love Ann Arbor so much more than anywhere else in B1G land.
I have a soft spot for Ann Arbor; Everyone in my immediate family but my oldest daughter went to UM, thereby multiplying its charm and meaning for me in many ways. And I occasionally give talks there to music students, etc.
But I have a true confession: B1G campuses are cool in their own way, but far more beautiful ones do exist. Forgive the OT nature of the rest of this post.
My oldest daughter was admitted to the honors college at University of California Santa Barbara, and she wanted to check it out. Well, honors college...I mean, say the word "honor" to a parent! And for one's little genius to be admitted to an honors college at a good school out of state, that's a good thing, right? So how could we as proud parents not go? In 1998-99 it was ranked alongside Michigan (I don't know if that's still the case).
I wanted the choice of her college to be hers. Never mind that I spent the whole plane flight gently haranguing her about going Michigan (in the end, my argument basically boiled down to, "but they don't even have football!").
Then we toured the campus. It's, um, located on a peninsula on the Pacific. Dorm rooms have ocean views. The weather; I mean the weather! Flowering plants everywhere. A beach. Yes. A beach.
And yes, Santa Barbara. Not really a college town, but not bad, either!
I have to sheepishly admit that by the end of the tour, I was wearing a UCSB hat, carrying a bag of UCSB T-shirts and hoodies, and helping my daughter enroll.
I felt so guilty. But that campus was just so beautiful that I simply couldn't help it.
I've visited quite a few when I was looking around at colleges and of the ones I have visited, this would be my list:
1. Indiana- Beautiful Diag area, especially in the spring.
2. Michigan- No need to say more.
3. Michigan State- I enjoyed the greenery everywhere, but the campus was just too spread out and the buildings weren't anything special.
4. Wisconsin- Most people think Wisconsin is super beautiful, but I thought most of the buildings were pretty old, dark and ugly.
5. Northwestern- Nice area by the lake but it was alright, nothing too special in my opinion.
6. Illinois- Just wasn't that nice, it was alright, but c'mon the city pops out of a corn field and has some bad parts of town on the campus.
7. Purdue- I think we've said enough about Purdue.
Other than those 7 I have no idea what their campuses are like.
Considering U-M has an urban campus, the existence of the Nichols Arboretum qualifies for extra points, in much the same way that a lake benefits Wisconsin and Northwestern. A river? Sorry. We've got one of them, too.
I love Nichols Arboretum. Nice place to wander around in.
You said it. Someone (maybe you) posted some photos from a recent walk through the park on this site late last week. They inspired me to head down to Ann Arbor with my wife and kids on Saturday and do a little walkabout. Before I knew it, we'd gone 2.3 miles.
My kids were bitching about the hills they had to climb, so I treated them to dinner at Zingerman's Roadhouse after we'd left The Arb. That seemed to make up for it in their minds.
I've never met a Sparty who didn't think their campus was the best in the country. It does nothing for me (except make me appreciate that I did not have to go there). In the same way, they tend to hate our campus
Tha'ts how the human brain works. It rationalizes to cope.
Really, all of them were sweet, and unique in their own ways I guess. Out of the Big Ten campuses I have seen:
1. Michigan
2. Northwestern
3. Indiana
4. OSU
5. Wisconsin
6. Purdue
7. PSU
8. MSU
(side note: I frequently hear about how nice Notre Dame is, and I agree. However, I think Boston College is way nicer version, with quick access to Boston instead of South Bend..)
Northwestern, Wisconsin, Inidiana, Michigan State and Penn State are all gorgeous. I love the law quad in Ann Arbor, but I tend to go for collegiate Gothic.
I've been to all of them except Minnesota and Nebraska. I think people are underselling Iowa City, which is quite pretty and extremely likable. Indiana's campus is quite pretty but a little monochromatic and extremely small. Purdue, like Columbus, is a hellhole. MSU is mediocre. Excluding AA:
<br>
<br>1 Wisconsin
<br>2 Iowa
<br>3 Indiana
<br>4 NW
<br>MSU
<br>PSU
<br>Illinois
<br>Columbus/Purdue
I was able to tour MSU, Illinois, purdue, Wisconsin, Penn State, Northwestern and of course U-M (my wife and my alma mater). Hated startyville for obvious reasons. Illinois and Purdue were not very pretty. Penn State was picturesque in the valley but as a land grant was more like a compressed Michigan state. I did like penn state. Northwestern and Wisconsin have lakes and have some similarities. Wisconsin reminded me more of U-M as there was a very urban area that was integrated into the campus. Everything on the northwestern campus is on lake Michigan. The dorms are more integrated into the town.
<br>
<br>Anyway... My list...
<br>
<br>1) U-M
<br>2) Wisconsin
<br>3) northwestern
<br>4) penn state
<br>5) Indiana- road tripped as a student
<br>6) Iowa- went for business
<br>7) MSU- at least there is some grass
<br>8) purdue- nicer than Ohio or Illinois
<br>9) Illinois- anything better than Ohio
<br>10) Nebraska- never been there
<br>11) Minnesota- never been there
<br>12) OSU- the arm pit of the big ten
<br>
<br>And my daughter will be attending Wisconsin. Three club hockey teams for her to continue 10 years of hockey and she loves the campus.
October 21st, 2011 at 11:49 AM ^
IU and UofM take the cake for me. Not only are the campuses themselves absolutely flawless,but Bloomington and Ann Arbor (the towns they are in) are exactly what you want in a college town; great bars, diverse resturaunts, and beautiful landscapes. IU has gorgeous limestone buildings, set on rolling hills and nestled under beatifully aged trees. Michigan is also pretty amazing...their academic buildings are pretty ridiculous, especially the Michigan Union (IU Memorial Union is as equally stunning). As for the two worst, I'd say Illinois and Purdue because they are both fairly similar to each other: they are dreary campuses with no uniformity, ugly ass towns, and are the type of schools you are glad you never went to (even though they are both are great, academically). The land Northwestern is on is easily the best in the BigTen, but the campus itself (buildings, layout) is just average. So #1 is a tie between Michigan and Indiana.