Lowry Mall Completed at last
Robert Kohlman

It took over two decades to complete, but Lowry Mall is finally finished.

In a ceremony Friday, UMC Chancellor Barbara Uehling dedicated the mall to the 
people of UMC. Her words ended the years of committee meetings and construction 
that were needed to complete the mall.

For a simple thoroughfare connection the Memorial Union and Red Campus, Lowry 
Mall has been a large thorn in the side of the University. As for back as the 
1960's, student leaders wanted to make "Lowry Street" a pedestrian are of 
campus. 

At the time, it was little more than another Columbia city street. Today, 
however, the red brick, terraced mall is a campus meeting area. It is a place 
where people talk to friends, study, listen to speakers or even watch movies. 

"There are very few places on campus where students can sit outside and meet 
their friends," said Bill Ruppert, UMC landscape architect. "Lowry Mall 
accommodates a hell of a lot of people."

Ruppert knows a lot about Lowry Mall. As a UMC student, he was involved in the 
Student Fees Capital Improvement Committee, which provided much of the impetus-
for the $878,000 project.

Although complaints about Lowry Street began in the 1960's, it was not until 
1973 that the University finally reached an agreement with the city to limit 
automobile traffic on the street during certain hours of the day. It was another 
five years before students finally persuaded the administration to close the 
street permanently.

"It took the Uehling administration to really move the Lowry Mall project to the 
point of reality," Ruppert said. "After all those years of discussion, it didn't 
happen until (Uehling) said 'Yes, this is right. Let's do it.'" 

The big problem was money. In 1978, the way was cleared when the Student Fee 
Capital Improvement Committee recommended allocation of funding. It was until 
1980, however, that serious discussion even began.

Those discussions were massive affairs, with as many as 50 people attending, 
representing all sections of the University. The meetings formulated a basic 
format for the mall.

"One of the big things at that time was that there was concrete all over 
campus," Ruppert said. "What came out of those meetings was that no one wanted 
concrete, so we got red brick."

The mall was completed in five phases, since money was so tight. Most of the 
money for the project came from the Student Fees Capital Improvement Committee 
and private donors. 

"It took so long strictly because of funding," Ruppert said. "There was not 
enough money at any one time."

"We were heavily dependent on outside contributions, and without anything to 
show people, it's hard to get them to donate money," he said. "We never would 
have made it through phase one and phase two without funding from the Student 
Fee Capital Improvement Committee and the University."