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A BJA Facet
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The Quadrangle - Part II
Inheriting the Quadrangle - 1958-80
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Bob Jones Jr., the original campus designer, claims that from the beginning he intended all Academy classes to be located in the Quadrangle. However, immediate University need of classroom laboratories for science and home economics and a campus medical facility necessitated three of the Quadrangle buildings being originally built to fill those needs. This was accomplished in the fall of 1947, the first semester the school was in Greenville, using WWII barracks and equipment brought from Cleveland, and some dating back to the school's time in Florida.
The plan was to eventually move the University classes out of the Quadrangle as the University built buildings with modern science and home economics facilities. In the school's typical "hand me down" fashion, the Quadrangle laboratories would be left for the Academy. That the University science and home economics classes were only temporarily in the Quadrangle, is one reason the extreme crowding in Academy Hall (today's Academy Main) was not immediately addressed. It was a temporary problem which would disappear as the University built additional buildings and the Academy could spread into the empty Quadrangle Buildings. The University Leaves the Quadrangle
Since the move to Greenville, Academy's music classes and lessons met in various non-Quadrangle locations (ie. Rodeheaver Auditorium, WMUU studios, Grace Haight apartments, the Student Center). Many of these classes and lessons moved to the Fine Arts building when it opened in 1956. Academy art classes also moved to the Fine Arts building. Relocating music and art classes, however, did not relieve congestion in Academy Hall.
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Front of Academy Hall - 1966
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The campus c 1958. The original Fine Arts / Art Gallery Building is complete. The science building has not been started.
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Laboratory sciences and some home economics courses were not offered for University or Academy classes the first semester the schools were in Greenville. By design the Alumni Building had no such facilities. By the second semester, however, Quadrangle buildings remedied that situation. University and Academy science and home economics classes were taught in Quadrangle classrooms.
The Howell Memorial Science Building. 1960.
In 1960 the Howell Memorial Science building opened with modern science and home economics laboratory classrooms. The University classes moved out of the Quadrangle, and Academy classes settled in. The Academy gained 9 classrooms. all of which were larger than the classrooms in Academy Main. A number of them, however, were limited in usage.
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Academy Hall rear doors, with name of building - 1958
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The Quadrangle ⏤ 1965
Academy Hall (today's Academy Main) did not change as BJA inherited two Quadrangle buildings. But for the first time in Greenville, not all Academy Hall classrooms were occupied every class hour. The North Building was located between the ends of Hospital and the East building. Today this area is the amphitheater. The current Hutto Building was built behind the original North Building. The "Home Management" area was a residential laboratory for the University's home economics department. It was not used by BJA. A sidewalk from the rear doors of Academy Hall to classrooms T and U of the East Building was added. |
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Classroom Notes ⏤
◈ Room M was a sewing laboratory classroom. Room N was a kitchen laboratory classroom.
◈ Room P was a science laboratory classroom, designed for students to be seated around tables with sinks and gas outlets. Not all students faced the front of the classroom.
◈ Rooms T and U were science laboratory classrooms. Moveable, arm-chair desks were on one side of the room and laboratory stations at which students stood for physical science, chemistry or physics laboratory exercises were on the other side of the room.
◈ Rooms Q and R were standard classrooms. Eventually room R became a typewriter lab.
◈ Room S was a large, tiered lecture hall.
◈ Rooms F, G, H and O were primarily Junior High classrooms.
◈ There was no classroom "L."
◈ Room M was a sewing laboratory classroom. Room N was a kitchen laboratory classroom.
◈ Room P was a science laboratory classroom, designed for students to be seated around tables with sinks and gas outlets. Not all students faced the front of the classroom.
◈ Rooms T and U were science laboratory classrooms. Moveable, arm-chair desks were on one side of the room and laboratory stations at which students stood for physical science, chemistry or physics laboratory exercises were on the other side of the room.
◈ Rooms Q and R were standard classrooms. Eventually room R became a typewriter lab.
◈ Room S was a large, tiered lecture hall.
◈ Rooms F, G, H and O were primarily Junior High classrooms.
◈ There was no classroom "L."
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In 1969 the Barge Memorial Hospital was completed. The first semester of the 1969-70 school year was spent remodeling the fourth Quadrangle building for Academy use. The area behind the main hospital building was originally the operating suite. The main operating room became the Academy's audio visual room. The area which became the study lounge was originally the faculty wing of the hospital. The window air conditioning units of the faculty wing remained. That made the study lounge was the only air conditioned Quadrangle room available to students.
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The four story W. J. Barge Memorial Hospital opened in 1969. It had 79 beds, 2 operating rooms, examining rooms, a physical therapy room, X-ray facilities, and a pharmacy.
Not shown in the diagram below is the apartment built in the mid 1960s for Bob Jones, Sr., who needed hospital care during his final days. After his death the apartment's access to the hospital was sealed off, and the apartment was used for faculty housing. Today it has been converted into a faculty office.
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The Quadrangle ⏤ 1970
As the Academy gained the fourth building of the Quadrangle it added 5 classrooms which were labeled with the final letters of the alphabet. While maintaining the older room designations, the sequence of letters and office numbers became even more confusing. A sidewalk behind Academy Hall to the West building was added. The Academy Hall's classroom C was lost to expanding the Academy Office. Offices for the Assistant Principal and Guidance Counselor were added. The Academy Hall's Triangle Office became a janitor's closet as the school's newspaper moved its headquarters to the new building. |
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Classroom Notes ⏤
◈ The Study Lounge had library style tables and chairs and served as a monitored, quiet place for students not having a class to do homework or relax.
◈ Room Z was a biology laboratory classroom which accommodated 24 students. Attached were a faculty office and a small "animal room" designed to house dormitory student's science fair projects.
◈ Room Y and its adjacent office (16) served as Edith Markham's classroom and office, and as the Triangle office.
◈ The tiny Triangle room (△) had stored medical supplies when it was part of the hospital. Its many windows made it ideal for the odoriferous process of silk-screening Triangle covers.
◈ Room X, with its easy external access, was used for driver education classes.
◈ Faculty Office 15 served as the Discipline Committee's office.
◈ The Lost and Found (L-F) and the Mimeograph room (Mimeo) had served for storage of surgical linens and equipment.
◈ The Study Lounge had library style tables and chairs and served as a monitored, quiet place for students not having a class to do homework or relax.
◈ Room Z was a biology laboratory classroom which accommodated 24 students. Attached were a faculty office and a small "animal room" designed to house dormitory student's science fair projects.
◈ Room Y and its adjacent office (16) served as Edith Markham's classroom and office, and as the Triangle office.
◈ The tiny Triangle room (△) had stored medical supplies when it was part of the hospital. Its many windows made it ideal for the odoriferous process of silk-screening Triangle covers.
◈ Room X, with its easy external access, was used for driver education classes.
◈ Faculty Office 15 served as the Discipline Committee's office.
◈ The Lost and Found (L-F) and the Mimeograph room (Mimeo) had served for storage of surgical linens and equipment.
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In 1974 the University's Home Economics division moved their Home Management facility to an off-campus house. Twenty years after the building of Academy Hall, BJA finally inherited the last of the Quadrangle.
The Academy's home economics department and the classrooms of the North Building were remodeled. The Academy's lettering of classrooms was inadequate and the sequence in shambles. Students and faculty used the class that met in it or the teacher that taught in it as the room's name. Thus it was "Mr Clough's room," or the "Biology room," rather than the room's letter. This was confusing for those unfamiliar with the Academy. It was decided that all of the classrooms would be re-lettered. Room A would start at the east end of Academy Hall and proceed clockwise around the buildings. Letter I would be used, and C would be restored to the sequence. Classroom Z would be across the sidewalk from room A. Confusing for old students at the beginning of the year, but the new system quickly caught on. |
Society meeting in the tiered classroom - c 1970
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The Quadrangle ⏤ 1974
The Junior High inherited the East Quadrangle Building. The Jr. Hi. office and the Jr. Hi. Principal's office were near South Drive. The large, tiered room X was shared. The double X sidewalk configuration was installed as part of Operation Beautification. (See below.) Eventually the Guidance Office and the Guidance Counselor moved across the lobby to Office 2. Their original office became a reception area. The Academian was founded in 1977 and moved into the Faculty Office 6 in the West building. |
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Classroom Notes ⏤
◈ Room P was a kitchen laboratory classroom. Room Q was a sewing laboratory classroom. DR was a dressing room.
◈ Room S was an art classroom,
◈ Room T & U were science laboratory classrooms for teaching physical science, chemistry and physics.
◈ Room P was a kitchen laboratory classroom. Room Q was a sewing laboratory classroom. DR was a dressing room.
◈ Room S was an art classroom,
◈ Room T & U were science laboratory classrooms for teaching physical science, chemistry and physics.
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Naming the Buildings
When BJC and BJA first moved to Cleveland most classes met in the Academic Building. Eventually the College classes moved to other buildings and only high school classes met in the building. For the last years in Cleveland, that building was re-named Academy Hall. The first building built for Academy classes in Greenville inherited that name. The other Quadrangle buildings were named Hospital, North Building and East Building. When the Hospital moved out of the Quadrangle in 1969, the building officially became the West Building. In 1976 the Academy Principal, Dr. Youstra, thought it would be good to name the Quadrangle Buildings. He chose the name Academy Main, but suggested the Student Body Organization hold a contest to suggest names for the other buildings. The Administration would then choose from the suggested names. That year, as part of the school's 50th anniversary celebration, The Student Body Organization was publishing Triangle articles about the Academy's history. Information of past Academy principals was part of the articles. Although there were some humorous suggestions to name the Quadrangle buildings (Huey, Dewey, Louie; Mickey, Donald, Goofey; readin', writin', 'rithmatic) the most common suggestion was the names of the first three Academy Principals. The Administration approved the names Collins, Hutto, and Brown for the Quadrangle buildings. Covered Sidewalks
As part of a campus remodel in 1965, the University installed yellow and black, aluminum covered sidewalks between front campus buildings. Cries went up for covered sidewalks in the Quadrangle. After the original campus hospital became an Academy building, the University's construction department installed wooden posts and aluminum roofed covers over the sidewalks along the buildings of the Quadrangle. However, cries for attaching the front campus covered sidewalks with the Quadrangle covered sidewalks fell on deaf ears. 
It Was Just Too Tempting ⏤ Within the first month, students doing chin-ups damaged a section of the sidewalk canopy. A new rule was announced. Damage resulting from using the sidewalk canopy as physical education equipment would result in charges for the repair and demerits for disobedience. |
Operation Beautification
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When the Academy inherited all four buildings, the Quadrangle itself was quite bare. Fruit trees planted near the doors of the Quadrangle buildings and a rose bed outside the North Building were originally planted to supply fresh fruit and blossoms for the home economics residence house. By the 1970s, the fruit trees had been removed, and the rose bushes were struggling. Several pecan trees that were planted for the same purpose, were getting large enough to produce nuts. To the delight of the resident squirrel population, a couple of them are still in the Quadrangle.
Other than foundational shrubbery plantings, two oak trees, several cement benches, a couple of trash cans, and a flag pole, the Quadrangle was bare. It was not what today would be called inviting. In the 1973-4 school year that would change. |
1973 ⏤ Note Amphitorium construction.
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Flag Raising Ceremony ⏤ c. 1955
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A Policy Change Affects the Quadrangle
Since its founding the University had sought to raise funds for campus improvement projects. Donations were made by supporters and campus groups raised funds through various campaigns and projects. The Academy was encouraged to make contributions to BJU's current project. After all, the improvement would, at least indirectly, affect BJA students.
In 1973, however, Principal Geoege Youstra gained permission for the Academy to raise funds for Academy improvements. He saw this as a method to encourage student participation in bettering their school and a means to improve BJA facilities that the University may not be inclined to provide. The first project was to address the appearance of the Quadrangle. The principal named it Operation Beautification. The Student Body Organization (SBO) was asked to aid in the development of Operation Beautification and was tasked to organize and promote the student fund raising aspects of the project. It became a major task⎯but the SBO officers and the student body rallied. |
The Principal and Student Body President planted the first crepe myrtle on October 17, 1973. The student body was dismissed from classes to attend the ceremony.
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Original Plans for Operation Beautification
The plans for the central area of the Quadrangle were developed by the University's Grounds department with input from the BJA Administration and the SBO. It would have three rose gardens, four semicircular beds, a circular flag-pole bed, and a fountain. There would be additional shrubbery, trees and benches symmetrically arranged in other areas of the Quadrangle. The effect was to be a "park and garden" atmosphere. Several plants identified in the spring 1974 Triangle article (right) were substituted for more suitable species. Some of the beds were enlarged and some shrubs eliminated. The organizations sponsoring aspects of the project are identified. The expense of its maintenance and that it would not be seen by campus visitors, caused the University Administration to eliminate the fountain. It was replaced by a mound with a topiary "bja" viewable from the back of Academy Main. The pebble paths were to cut down on intricate grass mowing and trimming. They were deemed difficult to maintain, unnecessary, and a temptation to be become projectiles for immature students. They were eliminated. With student and faculty help. all of this was to be installed before Summer Vacation, 1974. |
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One request given to the University Grounds Department was to include different plant families for educational purposes. The shrubbery, trees and perennials planted in various beds outside of the central area were often species not seen in other campus areas. Small signs identifying plants as well as donors were placed in beds and on some plants. Male Gingko biloba trees were planted at the ends of the Hutto Building. They were moved to front campus when the Hutto Building was remodeled.
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Dividing the Cost
Once the original plans and the initial cost estimates were made, the SBO divided the cost for various aspects of the central area of the project (right). Academy organizations were invited to raise the funds needed for the various parts. They would be recognized with "Sponsored by . . . " plaques in the areas that they provided. (Some of the announced species were substituted before planting.) Periodically the SBO would post how well the various groups were doing toward reaching their pledge on a bulletin board or in the Triangle (below). 
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One of the goals of Operation Beautification was for students to be involved with supporting the school. Tau Sigma Epsilon, the Academy's service organization gave the proceeds of their car washs to Operation Beautification. Societies decided to have less expensive food items on their outings and gave the savings toward their pledge. A young ladies society baked cookies and sold them at lunch time.
Large contributions were not rejected, but small contributions were encouraged. Students were asked to give a quarter per month toward Operation Beautification. A box with a quarter-sized slot for each organization that had pledged to Operation Beautification was located in the Academy Office. The SBO was tasked with reminding students of the monthly Quarter Weeks. This was done through announcements, posters and entries in the Academy Record (a daily announcement sheet prepared by the administration and read to the student body). |
The Cedar Tree and Quarter Week
Outside the back doors of Academy Main was an Eastern Red Cedar. It was removed on a February week-end. The view from inside Main was dramatically different. In light of Quarter Week and President's Day the principals gave permission for the SBO to run announcements in the Academy Record. |
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The Sidewalks
Before the various beds could be laid-out and prepared for planting, additional sidewalks needed to be installed and some existing sidewalks needed to be widened. To improve drainage and prevent ponding, other sidewalks needed to be raised. This was one of the more expensive aspects of Operation Beautification, and the faculty undertook raising the funds for it. In order for these improvements to be done during the Christmas break, the principal appealed to the faculty to make early contributions. Much of the labor was provided by faculty and students during the Christmas Break, but weather intervened as described inTriangle articles below.
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The double X sidewalk pattern, with all sidewalks of equal width, was installed before planting. Beds of shrubs, trees and perennials were planned for sidewalk corners.
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Although the original planting of Operation Beautification was completed in April 1974, the just-put-in plants made the area appear "unfinished."
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Operation Beautification in early spring, 1974
The Park & Garden Quadrangle
The results of Operation Beautification
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