Departments News & Features Arts Sports Research Briefs Health Matters BU Yesterday Contact Us

Week of 7 November 1997 Vol. I, No. 11 BU Yesterday In order to form a more perfect union, the University had first to get rid of the old one. Known as the Commons, the wooden buildings in the foreground served as BU's student center from 1947 until 1961. The structures were originally located on Gallops Island in Boston Harbor and housed radio stations and decoding rooms used by the U.S. Maritime Service. BU bought the structures after World War II, dismantled them, and reassembled them on the Charles River Campus. By the time this photograph was taken, in June 1961, they had become wholly inadequate. In their place now stands the George Sherman Union, opened in 1963. Photo: BU Photo Services