By Browning Brooks
FSU Communications Group
The outsides were more beautiful than anything built today, and the insides were more primitive.
Bryan Hall looked like a medieval castle. Reynolds had window frames of ivy carved in stone. Jennie Murphree had moldings flanked by sea serpents. Broward had parapets. Gilchrist had a gabled, terra cotta roof. All five Jacobean Revival dorms -- now called residence halls but known as dormitories when they were built early in this century -- were architectural treasures.
But by the end of the century, their charm had become more spiritual than physical. They were fire traps. The linoleum was ragged, the plumbing was outmoded and the decades of paint layers were flaking off.
FSU is spending $36 million to freeze time on the outside and speed it up on
the inside of the five old residences. And some of the women who studied in the
sweltering heat and stood in line to use the telephone many years ago hope that
modern students -- in their private and comfortable suites -- will not miss
out on a more basic dormitory experience.
"When you had to take phone messages for each other and you had the doors open all the time, there was a community about that," said Sue Foster, a resident of Jennie from 1972 to 1975.
But today's students expect certain luxuries -- and university officials say they have ways to bring back the community feelings of the old days without sacrificing the comforts of the new.
"The restoration of these historic buildings ensures that students for generations to come will be able to live in a modern, safe atmosphere," Housing Director Rita Moser said. "We are trying to meet the needs of current students, who want more privacy and more amenities."
They have them now. In Jennie, renovated in 1993, tea-toned wooden doors, trimmed in charcoal gray, line cream-colored halls softened with flame-retardant carpet. Rooms are suites, each with a refrigerator, telephone, temperature controls, private or semi-private bathroom and weekly maid service.
Students like it.
Chris Muth, a junior criminology major living in Jennie for the summer, rolls his eyes at the very thought of previous campus digs.
"Anyone who's ever lived in any other dorm on campus has to be happy with this," he said, grinning.
Though the cost of living in Jennie has risen about $450 a semester -- to $1,422 -- "80 percent of the women who applied early for on-campus housing requested Jennie when it reopened," Moser said.
Reynolds, which holds about 240 students, is expected to be completed at this time next year. Bryan, erected in 1907 -- the oldest building on campus -- will follow, returning to use as a residence hall now that some administrative offices have been moved to the new University Center. Broward and Gilchrist will close in April 1997 and reopen in August 1999.
On the exteriors, limestone facings are being cleaned and repaired, energy-efficient windows of traditional design installed, and tile roofs reconstructed. The gutted interiors are yielding new kitchens, lounges, study rooms and laundries. Electrical, fire-alarm and sprinkler systems are being upgraded and ancient, combustible wood is coming out, smoke-detectors going in.
The buildings also are being made accessible to students with disabilities.
And there are other changes reflecting the times. Reynolds, Bryan and Gilchrist may be co-ed, and Broward may house men only. Jennie will continue to house women only, Moser said.
For alumnae who remember the days of no men, or taking tea in the parlor, or impromptu parties in the old, cavernous halls, the renovations are bittersweet. They recall that making do with heat and humidity and the frailties of old buildings built an openness, a camaraderie, much as camping trips do.
The old wooden floors in fortress-like Bryan Hall were so worn that "if you mopped in the wrong direction you'd raise a splinter so big it would snatch the mop right out of your hands," said Mary Lou Norwood, a freshman in 1943.
"We had those ancient screw-out windows that you could never really shut, so in winter you got real creative to stay warm."
Residents remember the howls from scalded shower-takers when anyone forgot to yell "Flush!" in the common bathrooms, and the clanging of steam-heat pipes. And the panty raids. And the doors that were always open, so as to hear the one telephone and not miss a call.
Sue Foster remembers the Jennie/Reynolds water-balloon fight to end all water-balloon fights.
"We worked all day to fill balloons from bathtubs," she said. "Of course, each side claimed victory."
She was so impressed by the quality of her life on the FSU campus that she went into the college housing field. Now assistant director of student and staff development at Kent State University, she said universities must be more consumer oriented to attract students to on-campus living. Still, she hopes private amenities won't contribute to a loss of community.
FSU administrators say they recognize the challenge.
In renovated Jennie, women have asked for doorstops so they won't always be closed off from each other.
"But it's against state fire regulations," Moser said sympathetically. "We have to have automatic door closures on every door."
So, FSU has initiated new programs to foster community spirit in the elegant residence halls that form the nucleus of the old campus.
In Jennie, for example, women studying math, science or engineering can apply to be part of a special group living on one floor.
"That allows them to work with faculty on special activities and to study with each other," Moser said. "This year, they went to Cape Canaveral together."
In the end, officials expect that the massive renovation will go a long way toward retaining the residential nature of the campus, said Sherrill Ragans, associate vice president for student affairs.
"And," she added, "we will have preserved the best of our history."