The Joint Archives of Holland and the A.C. Van Raalte Institute at Hope College have published a capsule history of the Hope campus.
The paperback booklet, "Campus Alive: A Walking
Tour of Hope College," surveys the history of past and
present college buildings and sites. The illustrated, 23-
page volume is structured so that visitors to Hope can guide
themselves through campus.
"Campus Alive: A Walking Tour of Hope College"
was written by Dr. Elton J. Bruins and Larry J. Wagenaar.
Bruins is the director of the college's A.C. Van Raalte
Institute and the Evert J. and Hattie E. Blekkink Professor
Emeritus of Religion. Wagenaar is director of the Joint
Archives of Holland and an associate professor at Hope.
"A great deal of Hope's history is captured in the
development of the campus," Wagenaar said. "We hope that
readers will enjoy learning more about not only the college
as we know it today, but also the way that familiar sites
were used in previous times."
The description of Phelps Hall, located at
Columbia Avenue and 10th Street, for example, discusses not
only the building's 1960 construction and the cafeteria's
1979 expansion, but also the fact that the site housed the
log cabin built in 1897 to commemorate Holland's 50th
anniversary.
The booklet's descriptions begin with the DeWitt
Center, located on Columbia Avenue at 11th Street, and carry
readers counterclockwise through the central campus. The
booklet is based on historical campus tours that Bruins and
Wagenaar have conducted through the years.
Copies of "Campus Alive: A Walking Tour of Hope
College" cost $1.95, and are available at either the Joint
Archives of Holland or the college's Hope-Geneva Bookstore.
The archives is located on the ground level of the Van Wylen
Library, and the book store is located on the ground level
of the DeWitt Center.
The Joint Archives of Holland brings together the
archival collections of Hope College with those of the
Holland Museum, Western Theological Seminary, and other
organizations that contract for archival services. The A.C.
Van Raalte Institute supports research and writing on the
history and heritage of the Holland area, and is named for
the founder of both Hope and Holland.