From: dtasman@NMSU.edu (Dan Tasman)
Subject: Re: largest dorm
Organization: New Mexico State University
Date: Sat, 7 Nov 1992 05:26:31 GMT

moroney@ramblr.enet.dec.com writes:
: Ellicott Legend #1:  The place was built so far away from 'the spine' and
: with such poor access to outside to keep rioting students under control
: (it was designed and built not long after VietNam War riots)

True.  Read "High Hopes - The Rise and Fall of Buffalo, New York".  I can't  
remember the author, but it is a standard in just about every bookstore in  
Buffalo.  There's a sequel to the gloomy "High Hopes", published in response to  
the go-go economic boom that Buffalo had (and to some extent is still going  
through) in the mid and late 1980s. 

: Ellicott Legend #2:  The Buffalo Subway was intended to run through 'the
: tunnel'.

False.  The original plans for Metrorail had the train route slicing through  
the Spine, approximately where the library is.  It then continued onward toward  
the Audubon New Town area down Audubon Parkway.  With the present anti-growth  
policies in suburban EdgeCity Buffalo^D^D^D^D^D^D^D^D^D^D^D^D^D^D^D^D^DAmherst,  
it's unlikely the UB North spur will be built in the near future.  Plans call  
for the next Metrorail extension to serve the Tonawandas to the north or the  
Walden Galleria to the east.
 
: Ellicott Legend #3: (true) At one time, almost no one lived in Spaulding,
: just about the whole place was used as offices.  During some of this time
: there was a great shortage of dorm rooms.

Same thing is going on right now at Buff State ... they converted South Rise  
into offices while there is a shortage of dorms.  Remember, Buff State is in a  
slightly more expensive neighborhood than UB, so affordable off-campus housing  
is a bit harder to find. 

: Legend #4:  The electric power industry made mega-payoffs to get UB Amherst
: built the way it is (the whole place is electrically heated, with Ellicott
: seemingly designed for maximum surface-to-volume ratio, how wise is all
: this in a Buffalo winter?)

Hmm ... when Ellicott was built in the mid-70's, perhaps natural gas or fuel  
oil was more expensive than electricity.  Many homes built during the '70s in  
Buffalo have electric heat.  I wouldn't want a home with electric baseboard  
heating in the Queen City ... electric bills run $150 or more for  
electric-heated homes during the winter, even with some of the nation's  
cheapest power.    

: (p.s. how many other places can one get a dorm room exposed to the outdoors
: on 5 sides?)

One thing I really don't understand about UB ... there's no such thing as a  
suite-style room (I think there are a few in Goodyear, but I'm not sure.).  In  
Ellicott, there are some six-man (okay, PCers, six PERSON) dorm rooms.  Not  
suites.  Six man _dorm_ rooms, one big room and a couple of closets.  Go  
figure.  

--
   Dan Tasman                                       dtasman@dante.nmsu.edu
                                                     molson@rever.nmsu.edu
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