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Links 1-10 of 17 in this trail

1. Pig's Dead... Dog Gone

   Before there was Bevo, UT had Pig Bellmont. This site is somewhat of a eulogy for Texas' terrier, including photos of UT's first mascot and his wake.

2. The Original 40 Acres

   Now sprawling over 350 acres, UT was originally founded in 1883 on a 40-acre grant near the State Capitol in Austin, TX. This is a photo of the original building, fifteen years after foundation of the University.

3. The Origins of Bevo

   Just about everyone who knows anything about UT has heard the story of Bevo. How the accursed Aggies subdued UT's beloved mascot in a blind fit of revenge over one of what would become many losses to the Longhorns. The story of how they spitefully branded the beast with the previous year's score. And then there's that other yarn about Bevo and a BBQ grill. Let all the rumors and hearsay be put to rest, this is straight from the bull's mouth...
4. The Secret Tunnels Under UT

   There have long been rumors of an extensive tunnel system under UT's main campus. In 2006, four students broke into the catacombs, documented their journey with video and lived to tell the tale. OK, so they didn't find aliens, black-hat military projects or CHUD-like refugees from the School of Architecture. It's still an interesting read, and verification of a long-held campus legend.

5. The Taylor Hall Reactor

   UT fired up its research nuclear reactor under Taylor Hall in the 1950s. This reactor was "moved" to the Pickle Research Campus is the early 1990's, but the filled-in shell remained under the computer science building. This is a picture of the reactor in 2000, visible during the demolition of Taylor Hall in preparation for the new ACES building. The reactor is the white octagon near the center of the photo. Maybe that explains the odd behavior of my CS310 prof...

6. The Albino Squirrel Preservation Society

   One of the strangest things most freshmen notice within a few weeks of beginning their tenure at UT is the abundance of campus-dwelling, albino squirrels. I had never even heard of albino squirrels before I first met one near the Student Union. Could they be the result of a genetic experiment turned loose on the campus? A mutation due to (gulp) the Taylor Reactor? No matter where they came from, the really strange thing is that there is an Albino Squirrel Preservation Society, UT Chapter. OK, maybe it's not that weird. The school IS in Austin.
7. The University of Texas Tower

   Sometimes orange, hardly ever white, but usually stone grey, standing 307 feet tall and with a storied history, UT's most recognizable symbol is the Tower.

8. The Owls of Texas

   Rumor has it that the UT Tower was designed by a Rice alumnus who, through either spite or sheer mischief, fashioned the Tower's upper deck and clocks to resemble the face of an owl (Rice University's mascot) when viewed from certain angles. Given that the Tower was designed by Paul Philippe Cret, a French-American architect hailing from the University of Pennsylvania, this story would appear to resemble something you'd find in Bevo's stall. Regardless, this photograph captures the fact behind the fiction.

9. Touring the Tower

   After twenty-five years of being off-limits to the public, UT's Tower again opened its observation deck to limited tours in 1999. The common wisdom is that the Tower closed due to Whitman's 1966 shooting spree, but in reality it was closed to stem the tide of people leaping to their deaths in the early 1970's. This article discusses some of the Tower's history, including the role of Paul Cret in designing the UT campus.

10. Littlefield Home - Haunted!

    While the campus is sure to echo with sounds of "boo" and "get out" when the Aggies play at DKR Memorial Stadium, this boo-fest is an entirely different situation. One of the most beautiful buildings on the UT campus, Littlefield Home is also home to numerous ghost stories. Alice Littlefield is said to still roam the halls of her home, banging out a chord or two of "The Eyes of Texas" on the family piano when the inspiration finds her.