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• 1 2017-01-02T16:18:03-08:00 Derham Hall Slides 12 fire safety has never been this fun plain 2017-03-30T12:49:27-07:00 The back of Derham Hall features large rusted metal tubes traveling up the sides of the building and connecting to the interior. These tubes used to house slides that would help evacuate the building in the event of a fire. Back in the early 1900s, there was a great fear of city wide fire. This fear stemmed from great city wide fires, like the one in Chicago, that destroyed cities and left hundreds dead. The early bulletin of the college boasted that Derham Hall was “fireproof” and these slides were part of the emergency plan. In the event of a fire, people would evacuate the building by sliding down these tubes. Decades later these slides would have a more fun purpose, as a fun afternoon event. Fire Safety has never been this fun! Today the slides are no longer safe or fun but a safety hazard. They’re still located in some offices but the slides are no longer usable since the tubes have been welded shut at the bottom. These odd slides are a reminder of the past and the concerns of the past. When the building was built there was a fear of city wide fires. This fear encouraged builders and architects to design buildings that could help resist and prevent fire while it’s debatable if Derham was actually fireproof it's the thought that counts. These slides connect the building to a different world where people were scared of fire and took comfort in “fireproof buildings.”
  
  As the needs required of Derham Hall changed the building changed, some functions left behind permanent scars while others left without a trace. Today the slides are a very prominent reminder to the past and what the past looked like in Derham Hall; they have remained almost untouched only getting more rusted with time. On the other hand the chapel has moved out of the building without much of a trace, the room was converted into an office and conference room. Some spaces have been replaced, like the chapel and library, and so have lost their connections to the past. Often on campus the history of a space is lost as it is replaced with a newer better space.