Evening star., 1953-09-20
By John McKeIwoy

In an old, faded-red building
at 1885 H street NV, across the
street from the New York Avenue
Presbyterian Church and not far
from the strikingly modern
Wyatt Building, a ceremony is
held each year.
Besides officially opening the
George Washington University
Medical School, the ceremony al
ways manages to surprise those
who look on the school as a
modern plant to train young
doctors.
The ceremony comes off again
tomorrow. It's held in an audi-
torium about the size and shape
of a second balcony" in a
theater. The only exit is crammed
with students. once the $50 seats
have been filled and trustees,
school officials and guests squeez-
ed into place. DR.. Walter A.
Bloedorn, dean of the school,
jokingly suggests the guest
speaker might have to be passed
over the crowd and down to the
rostrum much as a bag of peanuts
is handed along at football
game.
Record Freshman Class.
Outside of a crowded, yet dig
nified start of another medical
school year, the ceremony breaks
up and leaves a number with this
thought in mind: the medical
school needs a new building.
"It's a necessity" says DR..
Bloedorn.
This year, the medical school
will enroll a record number of
freshmen. Gradually, these 100
young men will be added to the
nations critical supply of doc
tors
In the crowded, worn labora-
tories, the largest class in the
schools history will be doubling
up at their desks in some cases
and making the best of it.
No More Book Room.
Passing from the old building,
built in 1902. to the new" annex,
built in 1881, students can al
most see H street-and not from
a window.
The annex has annexed" it.
self about two inches from the
main building. The sag is not
dangerous and allows more light
in dark passageWay.
The floor of the important
library of the medical school is
holding its maximum load. Any
thing added in the way of heavy
bookcases could buckle the floor,
one school official said. Because
of the tremendous increase in
medical literature, the library
already has had to widen itself
about half way into a lecture
room. Students sitting in the
back row of the lecture room
are Immediately under the
library.
Added to the fact that the
student body will swell the build
ing population this year, school
officials point out that graduate
doctors will also be coming in
for postgraduate work. And
other doctors add to space worries
as they carry out important re-
search projects for the school
and hospital. Altogether. about
1,240 persons are receiving in
struction at the school each
year.
School Started in 1925.
Every year workmen come to
doctor up the old place. Last
week they were painting the walls
for the first time in years and
were back at the annual job of
patching the plumbing and leaks
in the roof. Though the face
may be lifted slightly, there re-
mains an indelible birth mark
which unquestionably dates" the
structure Cut in post at the
bottom of the stairs are the
initials Gu" Now roughly
painted over, they stood at one
time for Columbian University"
/ This was the name used by the
! present George Washington Uni
versity in 1878. In 1904 the title
was changed-after the present
medical school was built-and
the name of the medical school
changed correspondingly. Medi-