Campus of Drexel University

The Main Building, dedicated in 1891

The University City Main Campus of Drexel University is located just west of the Schuylkill River and is Drexel's largest and oldest campus. It stretches from Chestnut St. in the South to Powelton Ave in the North, and from the Amtrak rail yard in the East to 34th St in the West. The campus originally consisted of just the Main Building and its additions. In the 1960s the campus expanded greatly and several new buildings were constructed, mainly in the International Style with orange brick. Since then the University has bought nearly all the remaining buildings within the campus and has reused many of them for academic and residential purposes. Also the university has built another wave of new buildings mainly in the Modern and Postmodern style in metal and glass. Since North of Drexel's campus lies Powelton Village, a neighborhood of primarily Victorian homes. Drexel's continued efforts to expand the university and the dormitories have brought them into conflict with the Powelton Village Civic Association,^[1] which has attempted to block university projects on several occasions.^[2]

Student life

Drexel's Creese Student Center

Drexel's Ross Commons

The main campus is home to several student-life related locations, including the Creese Student Center, the Mandell Theater, and Lounge 101 in the basement of the Main Building. The main campus also includes Ross Commons, a remodeled old house converted for students' enjoyment to a restaurant, meeting, leisure, and study space.

On the south end of campus the Creese Student Center has a cafe, information desk, and sitting areas and tables for students. In the basement are the commuter lounge and the Greenawalt Student Development Center, which houses offices and meeting rooms for many student organizations such as the Undergraduate Student Government Association (USGA).

Food

All first year resident students are required to purchase either a Gold, Blue or Platinum dining plan. The Gold plan entitles them to unlimited visits to the recently renovated Handschumacher Dining Center on Chestnut Street, while the Blue and Platinum plans allows 12 meals per week. They also receive a per-term allowance of dining dollars which can be spent at any of several campus locations including TAKE 3! featuring Freschetta at Ross Commons, the Creese Cafe at the Creese Center, the Taco Bell at Hagerty Library, Starbucks located on the ground level of the Pearlstein Business Learning Center. ThirtyOne41 in the Main Building and the Northside Dining Terrace, featuring a Subway, Chik-Fil-a and Currito, on the first floor of Kelly Hall. Upperclassmen may purchase dining plans that allow them a limited number of visits and a different amount of dining dollars.

Non Drexel-owned food options include more than 10 lunch trucks <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Food_truck> , some spread out around campus and some on Ludlow St. behind the Main Building.

Department of Public Safety

Since Drexel has a large, urban campus there is always the risk of crime.^[3] Drexel's solution to the issue of crime is a three-layer defense: Drexel Police, Philadelphia Police, and Drexel Public Safety (staffed by Allied Barton). Police and Public Safety conduct regular patrols on campus and within a few blocks of campus on foot, bicycle, and police vehicles. In addition to Philadelphia Police, Drexel has its own police force. Drexel Police Officers are armed and have the same powers as the Philadelphia Police. Drexel also has hundreds of constantly monitored cameras around campus linked to an on-site security headquarters. In conjunction with these surveillance cameras, Drexel operates over over fifty emergency call boxes located around campus. Should a student feel endangered, he or she can simply press the button on these boxes, and they will be immediately connected with a security officer. The officer will be able to see the person and speak with the person via camera and phone. An officer will be dispatched to their location. Students may also request a walking escort 24 hours a day, from or to any location on or around campus. With all these measures in place, Drexel's campus remains a safe area for both students and local residents.

Art galleries

Drexel maintains several art galleries on its main campus. The Drexel Collection is housed primarily in the Westphal Picture Gallery, on the third floor of the Main Building. The collection was established by the university's founder, Anthony J. Drexel, who collected many types of art. The collection continued to receive donations after his death from family, friends, and alumni. The collection has a large variety of artifacts, including porcelains and furniture.

The Leonard Pearlstein Gallery is an aluminum and slate structure connected to Nesbitt Hall (the building for the College of Media Arts and Design) in which art exhibitions are frequently held. The slate side of the building is frequently covered with chalk messages about upcoming events.

Queen Lane Campus

The Queen Lane Campus is located within the East Falls neighborhood of Philadelphia.

The Queen Lane Campus of Drexel University is located at 2900 Queen Lane in Philadelphia giving it its name. The Queen Lane Campus is the home of Drexel University College of Medicine and houses first and second-year medical students as well as biomedical graduate students.^[4]

The Queen Lane campus was formerly a part of the now defunct MCP Hahnemann University until Drexel acquired it in a $7.25 million purchase from MCP on July 23, 2003.^[4]

References

1. ^ http://www.swarthmore.edu/Humanities/langlab/powelton/pvca.html
2. ^ "Drexel, PVCA near end of lot dispute". The Triangle. December 9, 2005. http://www.thetriangle.org/media/storage/paper689/news/2005/12/09/News/Drexel.Pvca.Near.End.Of.Lot.Dispute-1126468.shtml?norewrite200607261142&sourcedomain=www.thetriangle.org. Retrieved 2006-05-10. 
3. ^ "On campus, creating an illusion by crime data". The Philadelphia Inquirer. January 15, 2006. http://www.keepmedia.com/pubs/PhiladelphiaInquirer/2006/01/15/1155484?ba=a&bi=1&bp=97. Retrieved 2006-07-26. 
4. ^ ^{a b} "Queen Lane finishes first year as part of U.". The Triangle. July 23, 2004. http://www.thetriangle.org/media/storage/paper689/news/2004/07/23/News/Queen.Lane.Finishes.First.Year.As.Part.Of.U-695370.shtml?norewrite200610151123&sourcedomain=www.thetriangle.org. Retrieved 2006-10-15. 

External links

• Westphal Picture Gallery

Coordinates: 39°57′14″N 75°11′13″W / 39.95388°N 75.18691°W / 39.95388; -75.18691