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All this hullaballoo about the construction of Memorial Stadium, and no one seems to care what might have happened to poor old Bowles Hall.
But for anyone who might care, let the Clog allay your fears: that dear Hogwarts-esque dorm will not be snatched from student residents and presented on a silver platter to Haas businessmen after all.
The plan to convert the 1928 landmark dormitory into suites for executives attending the university’s Haas School of Business received an outcry from former Bowlesmen. The controversy was enough for the SF Chronicle to blatantly label it the “Battle of Bowles Hall–tradition vs. money.”
It was also enough to have the Haas project collapse in favor of a more modest proposal for general renovation of student dormitories.
After all the deliberations, the Clog is still curious why there were tree-sitters but no Bowles-sitters. What would Bowles-sitters look like? The two controversial projects were next-door neighbors–it wouldn’t be that hard for the tree-sitters to occupy both areas. Because, yeah, we know trees are important, but that Led Zeppelin mural on the northeast corner of the top floor is just as important.
However, we do concede that it would have been awfully fun to see the Haas Business Executives sing the Bowles Hall Drinking Song.
Image Source: Allison Porterfield, Daily Cal
Plan for Bowles Hall Over; What’s Next for Landmark? [Berkeley Daily Planet]
Battle of Bowles Hall–tradition vs. money [SF Gate]
Haas Plans Educational Center at Bowles [Daily Cal]
So the university is able to preserve a historic landmark while the City of Berkeley 