Sesquicentennial snapshot Workers erect a frame that would become part of the University of Wisconsin Field House. From its first commencement in 1931, held on an unfinished dirt floor, the Field House became the UW’s archetypal meeting place. “The Barn” kept the rhythm of campus life, through freshman convocations and graduations, college basketball seasons, high-school tournaments and other momentous occasions. In 1941, UW’s president gathered students there after the bombing of Pearl Harbor; another president did the same at World War II’s end. Campus buildings like the Field House, the Stock Pavilion, the Red Gym and Union Theater were more than spacious venues; they showcased UW–Madison’s magnetism for world leaders. The Union Theater was graced by Frank Lloyd Wright and Martin Luther King Jr.; the Field House by John F. Kennedy and Desmond Tutu; and the Stock Pavilion by Harry Truman. The new Kohl Center is continuing the tradition, hosting the 14th Dalai Lama of Tibet last spring. While the opening of the Kohl Center has ushered in semi- retirement for the Field House, a few UW athletic teams will continue to raise the Barn into its next century. (Photo courtesy UW–Madison Archives)