You’re looking for a big, tan-brick building with a cozy, sloped roof, large windows, and a welcoming front staircase right in front-just head toward the benches and garden area.
Now, picture it: the year is 1916, the air is crisp, and there’s the steady sound of hammers and saws as workers finish up what would soon be the women’s clubhouse at the University of Northern Colorado. Designed by Thomas P. Barber, this spacious Craftsman-style building became a gathering spot where female students could share secrets, laughter, and a bit of gossip away from the prying eyes of professors… or, well, at least that’s what the professors thought! Fast forward to 1932, and suddenly everyone was invited-all students, not just the ladies. The laughter doubled, and so did the foot traffic. When the country was struggling during the Great Depression, the Public Works Administration stepped in, and, in 1939, another wing was added, designed this time by F. W. Ireland, Jr., in a handsome Gothic Revival style. Over a century later, this spot is still buzzing as the campus’s student union, officially earning its place on the National Register of Historic Places in 2008. If you listen carefully, you just might hear the giggles of students from 1916 mixing in with today’s college crowd!
