So, wow. This book store is three floors, boasting an impressive array of offerings for the university student. The ground floor is textbooks, the top floor is general books with an excellent selection, and the middle floor is like a mini student center, with Rutgers apparel, student needs, delicious odds and ends, and a very nice café/convenience store I wish they had when I was back there, and plenty of tables and study spaces all throughout the top two floors. I, however, made a beeline for the textbooks on the ground floor. Every time I go back there, I eagerly look forward to seeing all the wonderful books that distinguished professors assign to their students for the course. It's as close to taking a course as you can get without auditing the course. But seeing as how it is nearing the end of the semester, there were hardly any books on the shelves, yet I came away with a great environmental sciences book titled simply, "Plastic" (the shelves were all closed off, they usually are after the first month of the semester, but I just asked the attendant to let me browse for a few moments, and I flashed some scarlet pride). I had more time to kill, so I went upstairs and was astounded by the selection in the general books area. I got two other books up there, one fiction, and a university press book, which are always pricey, but reflect a great deal of scholarship on behalf of a distinguished professor and his/her passions. I paid for my items, and made my way out the store, eager to soak some more Rutgers/Brunswick in, before I left. The location of the store is also amazing. Besides for the brilliant or serendipitous juxtaposition with old Queens, which serves as a crowning glory, it sits directly at the base of the end of College Avenue, the short, main street that runs through the Rutgers College campus (there are four other campuses spanning a total of three towns that this tremendous university occupies). The buses that connect the Rutgers College campus to the other campuses run down College Ave, so that clock in front of the building is telling you more than the time, it tells you what type of student you are ;)
I had half an hour, and some fruit to eat, so I decided to go to the old Queens Campus (the original name of the school was Queens College) and sit on a bench. It was too cold to eat my fruit, so I decided to file my nails, but of course, I was so moved by the architecture, as I had never really spent any time there as a student (these old building are mostly administrative buildings now), that I decided to make this little photo journal for us, dear reader, instead. Without further ado, I give you, old Queens:
Winants Hall
You can see the updates on this central building which still housed a class or two in my day, ten years ago
The Geological Sciences Building
I didn't catch this young man's name, as I was too focused on catching her scarlet glory, however half mast, with the year of her founding, 1766, showing clearly in the wind
Kirkpatrick Chapel
And yes, I went inside
And yes, the new windows are antiques too
And there was also these two guys on the main campus, where the bulk of the courses are taught on College Ave, that I had to capture. The tudor is a writing center I believe, but I am not sure about the gothic beauty. I never had a course there.
A shot of the Art Library, which sits at the end of a long row of old and distinguished buildings that I have very fond memories of. I love Rutgers.
I leave you, dear reader, with a shot of the train trellis which will take you to this great research university known simply as Rutgers. It is just after the Raritan river, which I strongly suggest you take note of, out of the right side of the train just as you approach. Its serene majesty welcomes you nicely into this historic beauty of a university.
Vive l'universite!
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