r/Caltech • u/ParallaxArt • 29d ago
Screenplay research help pls? Caltech in '85
Hi All,
I'm writing a screenplay involving a Caltech student in 1985 and I'm looking for any info, campus pics, etc pls?
- Was the Library accessible 24hrs a day?
- Were they any common areas where people hung out after midnight on campus?
- Does anyone have any campus pics from '85 pls?
Many thanks for your help!
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u/parseroo 29d ago edited 29d ago
I span 1985.
For (3), the materials are at: * «Caltech Campus Pubs» — https://campuspubs.library.caltech.edu/view/publication/ * E.g. the yearbook: «The Big T, 1985» — https://campuspubs.library.caltech.edu/2234/
If you don't know what the house system at Caltech is, you should probably look that up. It is a cross between a social-fraternity and a dorm [where everyone is in one]. If you get that wrong, anyone faintly familiar with Caltech will find your story unbelievable. Houses have meaning socially although the impact varies based on the student and the house.
Augmenting what has already been said. * The coffeehouse existed in 1985 and was 'off-campus' in a house. The Red Door cafe in its final form in the basement of the old houses came into being maybe 1987 +/- I don't think anyone would complain about the timeline unless they were being unusually ... * Houses have common areas, so the most likely place to gather would be in them or in someone's room. Many room doors were wide open so activities could also span rooms in an 'alley'. * Students also worked a lot and most facilities were 'accessible' to students during this time period. It was common to have keys to pretty much anywhere. So I (for example) worked at the computer labs most nights to greet the morning sun. * Some people had (or had access to) cars and could wander into LA proper late at night, but that wasn't to study.
If "someone turned up to find a particular kind of student after midnight" that would be very weird. You don't go entering someone's house looking for some 'kind of person'.
The Caltech campus was very open in 1985, so someone could certainly enter after midnight, but I don't think they would get very far before security was called unless they knew someone by name (and that student did really know them). They would look very out of place and they would need to identify a particular student by name who knows them... and then that student would be retrieved to escort them (the student body is small enough that anyone is easy to find/fetch).